Turn the sea Inside out
by luukagu
Summary: SAILOR/SIREN AU. He pressed his arms up over the boat, wrapped in moonlight-and Rin was captivated, in love with the little light points that swum in the sirens eyes. [Rin/Haru]
1. Beginning

**Luuka: **mermaids are a popular Free! AU-I kinda want to get in on it, too, but mermaids are too soft for me so I had to do sirens.

This is a fantasy/adventure/romance/mystery/supernatural, T rating for graphic kissing, non-graphic sexual content, swears, unimportant deaths and T violence.

Here we go!

* * *

Sunlight glimmered on the surface of the ocean as Rin Matsuoka looked up, squinting at the sun. Seagulls circled him overhead and the air felt crisp-tasting slightly of salt-waves gentle as they rolled over one another, out and into the endless blue.

'Hmn, not bad, kiddo!'

An aged sailor stood underneath Rin, watching him as he adjusted the sails.

'I'm used to fixing boats,' Rin replied. 'So I know what I'm doing- I used to do this all the time at Iwatobi.'

'Yeah, but this is your first trip, ain't it?' The old man snorted. 'You best be in for a shock. Life out here on the sea be nothing like it is on the harbour, pretty boy.'

Rin opened his mouth to retort when captain Mikoshiba stepped up beside the older man and laughed.

'Don't mind him... Matsuoka, you're doing pretty well for a new recruit! So you can do sailor knots, eh?'

'My dad taught me a thing or two when I was a kid,' Rin shrugged, sliding down from the mast and landing on the deck of the ship with a thump. His dad was gone now, of course-lost at sea, during a violent crash where his ship had turned into splinters after it hit an iceberg. Rin had specialised in ship repairs since about the age of nine and after a position had appeared on a local fishing ship, he'd ended up applying... getting him to where he was now. A particularly high wave rose over the side of the ship, splashing them all with salt spray.

'I'm disappointed, though,' Rin admitted. 'Captain, I was told there would be dolphins in this area-'

'The smart ones'll have migrated,' Mikoshiba said, crossing his arms over his chest. 'The cove near here is cultivated by sirens and they'll eat dolphins-tear 'em apart whole! They're vicious creatures... they eat men, as well.'

'Seriously?! Are we-'

'We're alright-sirens only attack in their grounds. They all have their own colonies with a certain amount of charted water and we go around it, so they shouldn't come close to us.'

_Shouldn't..._ Rin mentally rolled his eyes. _Well,_ he thought, _I'm reassured._

'And what happens if they do attack... what are we supposed to do then?'

'Then we die.' Mikoshiba said simply. 'Nary a boat that makes it out of the sea with most of its crew alive when sirens attack! That's why we're not stupid enough to go into their water: Matsuoka, we go around them instead. It takes a lot longer, sure, but at least that way we come back with all our crew.'

'Captain!' A young, grey haired man bounced up to them both, giving Mikoshiba a salute. 'We've got a telegram from Iwatobi saying that fishing prices have just risen by seventeen per cent, 'cause they'll be storms for a few weeks and... ahh... are you the new crew member?'

The last part was addressed to Rin; Rin thought his crew uniform kind of made the answer obvious, but recognised this as an attempt to be friendly and nodded.

'Yeah. I'm Rin-this is my first trip.'

'O-oh, my names Aiichiro! Uh-uhm, you're in with me... I'll show you our quarters!'

Rin followed Aiichiro down some steps to the bottom of the ship into a small, cramped room.

'This is where you'll sleep,' Aiichiro explained. 'It's a little grimy.'

Clearly, Rin thought, but he'd come to a fishing boat: it wasn't like he'd expected room service, or anything. There was a bunk with four beds stacked on top of each other and a barrel containing several changes of uniform-this was all the furniture that the 'room' contained.

'I think it's nice,' Aiichiro smiled. 'At least we get a ceiling.'

'Do your rooms not usually have ceilings?'

'R-Rin, we're lucky that we even get a room now,' Aiichiro said, solemnly to him. 'T-the captain before Mikoshiba made us sleep on the deck-he only put beds in the supply rooms because one of the crew members got stuck by lightening.'

'Uhh...' suddenly, Rin wanted to go home.

Rin climbed into the bottom bunk and lay down on it. At first, he thought it was cosy... and then realised he'd been experiencing optimistic disillusionment, and the word he was actually looking for was 'suffocating.' The bunk contained four beds, so Aiichiro's bed was mere inches from his face and the blankets were damp-the same temperature as the room. The mattress was lumpy and uncomfortable, barley thicker than a slice of bread...

Bread... Rin's stomach growled. That was a thing of the past, now; here, he'd eat rations.

'T-this ship has a crew of nine members and there's another room like this next door. Yamazaki used to sleep in your place,' Aiichiro informed Rin. 'But things got pretty good for him and he went on to get his own ship. And when I say: 'things got pretty good for him,' I mean his Dad died and he got the ship.'

'Oh...' Rin replied. 'Nice.'

'That's why we needed a new member,' Aiichiro continued. 'R-Rin, is everything okay? You look a little lost in thought...'

'I'm just concerned about the sirens,' Rin replied, sitting up. 'Um... Ai... is it just me, or does driving our boat around a nest of malicious sea creatures not seem like the best idea in the world to you?'

Aiichiro's brow furrowed.

'W-well, we go around them instead of through them, and I've never known them to attack outside their grounds. Rin, I do this every day... you don't have to be afraid!'

'I'm _not_ afraid,' Rin replied, narrowing his eyes. 'I just don't want to die before I have to. I hear that with sirens it doesn't matter how strong you are because their song is irresistible to anyone...'

'Well, t-that's true-they're temptresses, a-after all, and a strong body is nothing compared to a weak mind. But look on the bright side! Rin, fishing prices have gone up on the market... it will be so good for us when we get back to Iwatobi! If we make it, I hope we catch a lot!'

'If we make it...' Rin echoed. 'Right.'

* * *

The approach of the storm was marked by ominous grey clouds and the night's sky above Rin had turned a deep blue that faded into black. The eerie creaking of the fishing ship made Rin wonder if it was close to falling apart-the lamps all rocked and flickered, the sails Rin had tied up fluttered and flapped.

'They'll be a lot more nights like this,' Aiichiro told Rin, over the rain. 'The sea is always violent, but the worst is yet to come!'

'Fantastic.'

'MATSUOKA!' Mikoshiba screamed. 'Get around the back and check the pullies-Nitori, I want you on the sails! The rest of you on the decks and pull in the nets-NOW!'

Darkness was falling rapidly and the lamps on the ship hardly provided any light; Rin was changing the ropes on an axel when he heard a sound carried over the waves. Singing: a lady was singing in the distance, her tone beautifully melancholic. Her voice echoed over the wind, reaching across the water toward him, beckoning Rin to come closer, to jump into the water. For a moment, Rin felt lightheaded...

'They're here!' Rin heard a crew member squeak, sounding completely terrified. The singing was growing steadily louder as Rin picked up not one, but several female voices.

'IT'S FINE!' Mikoshiba yelled, over the crashing of the waves. 'They're too far away-it's not loud enough to get to you! Everyone grab some rope and tie yourselves to the ship! They want to make you to jump overboard, but as long as you stay on the deck then they can't... NO-'

The captains cry was too late- the old man who had called Rin a 'pretty boy' screamed and threw himself over the side of the ship. Frantically, Rin tied both of his arms to the anchor, fastening the bow with his teeth, trying to block out the sound of the singing. It was all too much... too much... he felt so scared...

And then, Rin looked up and his eyes accidentally made contact with a siren that had poked it's head out of the water. The second that their stares locked, the rest of the world just melted away: everything else completely ceased to exist.

It was a male-definitely a male, and Rin was captivated by how gorgeous it was. The siren watched Rin patiently before it came closer, pulling its arms up to rest over the side of the ship a few inches away from Rin, watching.

'I... you...'

Rin's resistance shut down and the rush of the storm subdued: everything went quiet as he stared back into the eyes of the siren, lost in its gaze.

Moonlight and silhouettes played across its bare chest, each little curve of its muscles slender and sculpted-yes, no matter which way Rin looked at it, it was definitely a male. It had short, dark hair- a little longer behind the ears-that shimmered with drops of water, it's bright, blue eyes framed by short, dark lashes threaded with beads of water. It was just a few seconds that Rin spent staring into its eyes, but it felt like an eternity to Rin-a beautiful eternity... he was completely in love.

'Water,' the siren said to Rin, the sea lapping at its back and pooling around its waist. Rin stared back at it helplessly.

'I-I'll drown-'

The siren shook his head.

'With me.'

The siren stretched out a hand in front of Rin. It was a beautiful, soft palm with long fingers, pale against the ocean... and all Rin had to do was take it. Rin tugged his arms desperately, but it wasn't any use: his wrists were tied to the anchor.

'I-I can't,' Rin told it-completely transfixed. 'The... the ropes...'

'Undo them.'

'How am I supposed to undo them if my hands are tied up?' Rin demanded, throat tightening with the seconds-heat rising in his body.

_Snap out of it, snap out of it..._ Rin tried to control his thoughts. _He'll eat you!_

_But he looks so gentle..._

The siren leaned in toward Rin and held Rin's palm, its movements gentle and light. Its skin felt smooth, wet and slippery... Rin moaned as one of its thumbs went underneath the rope and begun to unfasten it, the siren pulling its upper body up over the edge of the ship... leaning in close toward Rin's lips, until Rin could feel it's breath on his cheek...

_Closer..._

Rin closed his eyes, heart randomly skipping beats, pounding audibly in his ears as he felt soft lips brush against the side of his face... and then, shots were fired and the siren dove back with a splash, disappearing into the inky blackness of the ocean.

'Rin!' Aiichiro rushed up to him. 'It almost had you! Are you okay?'

'I... yeah.' Rin blinked, completely drenched from the rain, trying to distinguish the other sailors in the darkness. '...what just happened?'

'A siren came up to you... it was trying to drag you under! We-we lost one of the crew members when he threw himself overboard, a-and you were about to go the same way...'

'Harlot bitches!' Mikoshiba snarled, tossing his shotgun across the deck. 'They shouldn't be on this route! Their territory is over by the caves-why are they out of their radius?'

'I-I'm sure there's a good reason,' Aiichiro assured him. Mikoshiba kicked the gun.

'That just lost us one of our crew members... shit. I just had to replace Yamazaki and now I've got to replace this one... why are they coming up to the boats?'

'You mean they don't usually do that?'

Aiichiro set a hand down on Rin's shoulder.

'I've never seen it happen out of their territory,' he told Rin, softly. 'And I've been on this boat for about a year. Captain, maybe the one that came up to Rin was a rogue-'

'She's a bitch is what she is!' Mikoshiba ran his fingers through his hair. 'If she thinks she can come up to the boat and snatch whoever she wants... I promise that if she tries it again, then my bullets won't miss her-'

_Her..._

Rin shivered as Aiichiro crouched down, loosening the ropes around his wrists.

'Sirens are all women...' Rin asked. 'Right?'

'Matsuoka, you know that.' Mikoshiba frowned. 'Why?'

'Because, the one that came up to me... captain, I'm sure that it was a male.'


	2. Someway, somehow

Midnight fell, and Rin spent his break tossing and turning in his bunk, his sleep cycle as restless as the tides themselves. Rin was trying to use the crashing of the ocean to relax himself into sleep, except it wasn't working: every time Rin closed his eyes he seemed to re-live the experience; the image of the male siren leaning toward him etched into the lids of his eyes.

'Cute!' One of the crew had laughed, when Rin had told them. 'Sirens are supposed to be women, but you think you got a boy-'

A red haired man looped an arm around Rin's neck.

'Give him a break, guys!' He'd laughed. 'The newbies' probably never seen a pair of breasts in his life, so it's not his fault if he can't tell the difference-'

'I'm telling you the truth!' Rin shrugged the arm away, angrily. 'I know what a woman looks like, and it wasn't that siren-why won't any of you listen to me?'

'Nitori,' the captain turned to Aiichiro. 'Have you seen any male sirens in the past?'

'N-none.'

'And did you see the siren that attacked Matsuoka?'

'O-only the tail when it dove back in the water... I-I didn't actually see its upper body or face-'

'Well, there it is.' Mikoshiba spread his hands. 'Matsuoka, sirens are women-it was dark, and your eyes were probably playing tricks on you-those witches can mess around with your mind. Get a good night's rest to recover from the experience: come morning you'll be feeling more relaxed. The real problem we should be focusing on is why one of them was out of it's territory-and what we're going to do if there are more.'

_Am I seeing things? _Rin rolled over in his bunk. _No... I know that siren was a male._ _I don't care what the others say._

_They're not the ones who almost got dragged under by it._

* * *

The night sky was dark- almost velvety-the horizon shrouded in fog and Rin was sitting on a rock, surrounded by the sea. A siren crawled up toward him-hands either side of Rin's legs-firm muscles half dipped in shadows, aqua tail glittering and contrasting the darkness. Rin's pulse pounded in his ears as a slender hand was placed atop his... odd strands of the sirens short, dark hair lifting up in the wind... their lips were inches from each other's...

_Closer..._

_Come closer._

_Touch me._

_TOUCH ME-_

'HEY!' Rin was slapped on the back. 'PAY ATTENTION! The nets ripping!'

'S-sorry. I wasn't concentrating...'

Rin shook his head to snap himself out of his daydream, looking up over the side of the boat to see that his fishing net had filled up with debris. Fishing was boring, and Rin often found his mind wandering without being able to help it. He knew he shouldn't allow himself to think about the male siren, because it had approached Rin thinking Rin was his next meal-Rin knew it would never have given him so much as a kiss. Still, Rin wanted...

'You're doing it again,' the red haired man-Momotarou-said, with a sigh. 'Earth to Rin? Hey, I'm speaking to you, asshole!'

'Alright!' Rin growled. 'Give me a break! I haven't been sleeping that well-'

'Shit, you're such a princess! Rin, you can't afford to lose sleep here- let me give you some advice. You eat whenever you can, you sleep as much as you can and you have sex whenever you can... those are the rules of life on the battlefield!'

_Uh... but we're on a boat._

'I've been trying to sleep!' Rin snarled back. 'It's not my fault if I keep having dreams-'

'Hey, Rin...' Momotarou looked across to him. 'You don't seem like the fisherman type. Plus you're young, and it's a dangerous job... me and Ai don't have anything else in the world which is why we ended up here... so, how come you came out to sea?'

Rin looked away across the water, taking a moment to think about that.

Rin's hometown-Iwatobi-was small and thatched, rain-soaked, famous for its port and Rin had never been able to afford to go to school. He'd only learned to read because he'd been taught in exchange for scrubbing an old man's sailboat, so even though Rin was intelligent, he wasn't 'educated'-apparently, that made all of the difference. Rin didn't want his younger sister, Gou, to be stuck as an underpaid seamstress forever, so he needed the money to send her to school... Rin knew that Gou deserved better and as the only male of the house (now seventeen) he felt responsible for helping her achieve that.

'It's... it's complicated,' he replied. 'Anyway, why do you care?'

'I don't,' Momotarou hummed. 'Just makin' conversation. My brothers' here too, just so you know. He's the captain: this boat and each other is all we both have left in this world. Well, I guess we have the crew, too... we think of all the men we work with as family!'

Honestly, Rin could understand the sentiment-although he'd only been on the fishing ship for a week, Rin had drawn closer to the rest of the crew-really felt as if in that short space of days, they'd been working together for a lifetime. He and Momotarou went through the nets, looking for fish and lobsters amid the seaweed.

'Scallops, scallops, seaweed, scallops...' Momotarou sighed. 'We're_ never_ gonna get any decent pay at this rate. This is such a bad haul.'

They emptied the nets and tossed them back overboard, leaning over the side of the ship as they waited.

'So, um...' Rin tried again with the small talk. 'Do you have a girlfriend back home?'

'Nope-I go out to the houses! Why have one girl when you can have 'em all?'

_Well, that's... one way of looking at it._

'And you-someone you like?'

Strange... why did that siren come to mind?

'No one,' Rin lied, and Momotarou sighed.

'You'd better get a girlfriend,' he advised. 'Cuz' there won't be much action happening all the way out here. Ships don't employ women as bringing females on board is bad luck, so the closest thing we have to women out here is sirens... but I've got to admit- those harpies have some pretty nice racks.'

_How did this guy even last ten seconds against the last siren attack?_

Rin sighed and rested his head in his arms, waiting for Aiichiro to tell him that his shift was over so he could go back to his bunk and lie down, bracing himself for another long and sleepless night-

Bracing himself to toss and turn, dreaming of that mysterious lone siren.


	3. Whisper across the ocean

**Luuka:** thank you for the reviews!

There is sexual content in this like kissing, touching, etc. but I don't describe the sex in this story-I just really heavily imply it.

* * *

Meals on the ship were something Rin still had to get used to. In the past, his sister had always bought fresh vegetables and meat from the market and cooked them in sauces, but there was nothing like that here: everything was either dry or from a can, tasteless and salted... unappealing.

'Rin, could you go get the wine? We're all out.'

'Yeah.'

Rin put down his ball of fat-not really interested in it, anyways-and made his way to the bottom cabin of the ship, crammed with machinery and crates. And something else-the floor was soaked in water...

'Captain!' He rushed back to the deck. 'There's... there's rising water downstairs-'

'Shit...' Mikoshiba stood. 'I'll go take a look.'

* * *

'Is it anything serious?' Rin asked as Mikoshiba examined the room. Mikoshiba frowned.

'It will be if we don't stop somewhere,' he murmured, more to himself than Rin. 'I don't understand how this could have happened.'

'What?'

'The leads supporting the pumps underneath the ship have snapped-I suppose they must have snagged on something and come loose... they've never done that on their own. Anyway, we're approaching some caves-we'll have to anchor up there for repairs.'

The caves were a little blip on the ships' radar, but colossal in actuality-a cluster of caverns in the middle of the sea where the ship was anchored, ready to be repaired.

'Big bro... I mean-_captain_...' Momotarou scowled. 'What are we supposed to do? Just sit around and wait for the repairs-'

'There's some rods in the back... make yourselves useful! Why don't you go fishing around the caves and find something for us to eat tonight?'

Rin thought the fishing suggestion was an obvious ploy to get rid of Momotarou, but went along, anyway: he sat with Momotarou and Aiichiro on the edge of the caves, rods in the black water.

'Boooorrrred.' Momotarou moaned.

'We could play eye-spy-'

'BOOORREEED,' Momotarou repeated, drowning out Aiichiro's suggestion.

'O-on the bright side,' Aiichiro tried. 'A-at least we're out of siren territory now.'

'Wish we could pull in one of those with a rod,' Momotarou sighed. 'We'd be set for life! Dead sirens are worth a lot, you know: a single scale on the tail could go for thousands at an auction, and there are all kinds of pervy aristocrats who get off at the idea of having a stuffed one on their wall-'

'You'd never do it,' Aiichiro replied. 'Even if you managed to kill one, hauling in the body is too big of a risk... they're really protective over their sisters. That's why you never see a siren alone-they're always in groups.'

_Except for the one that came up to me_, Rin thought to himself, moodily. He reeled in his rod, cleaning the seaweed from the hook.

'Shit, I'm so fucking bored...' Momotarou said, after a while. 'How long do they need to change a few leads? I'm going into one of those caverns to jack off.'

'Seriously?' Rin frowned at him. 'Why?'

'Why not? I can't do it in the quarters with a bunch of other men around, and fishing cycles last a month... that's too long to go without any stimulation. I'm not gonna be very long- don't any of you walk in on me.'

Then he stood and walked away toward the caves. Rin tsked at him.

_That guy is unbelievable. _

'So I guess it's just you and me,' Rin said, to Aiichiro. 'Unless you want to-'

'N-no! Uh... no,' Aiichiro flushed. 'I'll sit here and fish.'

Rin took off his shoes and rolled up his blue and white sailor's uniform, dipping his feet in the water. It was thick, murky and cold, but somehow felt oddly pleasant... just as Aiichiro copied, a small, round rock hit Rin on the temple.

'Ow... Ai, what was that for? You just threw something at me-'

'I-I didn't!'

Another stone hit Rin-this one in the rib.

'You were watching me that time!' Aiichiro stammered, when Rin turned to him. 'M-my hands are right here!'

Another stone, then another... one every several seconds. Putting his hands over his eyes, Rin looked around. They were coming from... the water?

'Momo,' Rin growled. 'If this is you, then you can come out-'

There was a small splash some distance away and a glitter of aqua from the corner of Rin's eye. He stood.

'I'm going to get the idiot. Stay here,' he told Aiichiro, sternly. 'In case he comes back.'

'E-eh? But I thought you just said...'

Aiichiro couldn't come... Rin knew this was something he had to do by himself.

Barefoot, Rin walked around to the back of the caves, noticing another glitter. It was... moving? Rin followed the shine through the water via the rock surface, reaching into his back pocket and thumbing his hunting knife for reassurance. When he got to the back of the cave's outsides, he stopped.

'What's the matter?' Rin called out. 'You followed us all the way here, didn't you? Are you shy now?'

For a moment, it was quiet... then the top of a head came up from the ocean, the lower half submerged. The figure was some distance away but close enough for Rin to see its dark hair and two big, blue eyes, peering up at him.

_He's here... h__e's the one who snapped the pump wires underneath the boat..._

'Did you follow the boat?' Rin yelled. 'Why?'

The head went back under, water rippling behind it.

_Shit..._

It was the siren: the male siren from that night, and Rin was confident it was trying to lure him away. The way it swam close to the surface of the water so its scales could catch the sunlight and shine, the way it stayed in the water around the rocks-Rin knew he should have gone back to the boat and that he'd probably die if he followed, but he couldn't help it.

This siren made him so curious.

The siren would bob up in the water occasionally and glance back at Rin to check it was being followed before diving under and swimming again. Where the labyrinth of caves ended, there were small rocks scattered across the sea that Rin clambered over, one by one until he reached the last one.

'What now?'

A faint splash. Holding his breath, Rin dove underwater, noticing a gleam of scales in front of him and following it through a rock passageway, emerging in an underwater cave. It wasn't visible from the surface of the ocean except for a small turret of rock that stuck out, a crack in its surface so that light could shine through. Rin pulled himself onto a flat tock surrounded by deep water, gasping for breath.

'I'm here,' he said, panting. 'Are you going to tell me what you want?'

The siren pulled itself up by its hands over the surface of rock, dipped up to its waist in water. It was close-too close... bathed directly in the solitary streak of light, so that Rin could see it more clearly than on the stormy night they'd met. It was just as gorgeous as Rin remembered... easily the most perfect creature he'd ever laid eyes on. It had a strong, slender upper body, fine skin showing its defined collarbones and a flat but smoothly muscled chest-dark hair shining with drops of water. Rin stared at it and it stared back with calm, blue eyes.

_Definitely a siren. __Definitely a male. __Definitely... real._

This was the creature that haunted Rin's dreams. It hadn't occurred to Rin until now that such a perfect being could eat him alive... with that thought, Rin slipped out his hunting knife and held it behind his back. He felt afraid-so afraid, because it was so beautiful...

'What do you want from me?!' Rin demanded. 'What are you-why did you follow the boat? I know you can speak English so stop playing dumb-AWNSER ME!'

There was no response. The siren pushed itself up with its arms and Rin took a step back, slipping, falling down onto his back and holding the knife in front of himself for protection. The siren pulled itself on top of Rin, sliding closer, pressing it's scales on top of Rin's legs and aligning it's hips with Rin's.

'Sssh.'

A whisper. It's voice was quiet-so, so quiet-that Rin could almost miss it over the crashing of the ocean outside... it made Rin shiver. One of the sirens hands touched Rin's fingers, unclenching the knife, prising it out gently and dropping it into the black water, letting it sink to the bottom.

Rin tried to speak, but no sounds were coming out-fear paralysed him. Panic and nervousness darted around inside of him like fireflies, anxiousness and trepidation, fear and arousal filling him to the brim-Rin was dead: he knew he was dead. The siren was so close and there was no way he could fight this kind of lust, no way he could resist it-Rin felt as if he were drowning, melting into desire. He surrendered and admitted defeat.

'Your fault,' the siren said. 'All yours.'

'Wh-what...'

'Will die for... curse. Shhh...'

The siren took one of Rin's wrists in two of its own hands and raised it, sucking on Rin's fingertips. Rin got the horrible feeling that he was being tasted, but it felt so good... so good. He shivered at the sensation and something between his legs pricked up against the sirens scales, flushing, unable to control it... the scales were wet, slippery and that felt arousing. The siren was on top of Rin with Rin's fingers in its mouth, and so many questions were buzzing through Rin's head... yet all he could think about was how beautiful the male siren looked up above his body.

_This siren... wh__at does it want? __Will it really kill me?_


	4. Murmur of a curse

The sea echoed above against the top of a rock that protruded from the sunken cavern, light spilling down onto Rin and illuminating the siren on top of his legs. They were alone, together-hidden underneath the water.

'You mentioned a curse-'

'Shhh.'

A finger rested against Rin's lips.

'Quiet. Or find you.'

'You know I want to be found-'

'No...' the siren shook it's head. 'No.'

The siren put one of its hands on Rin's chest and spread its fingers into a starfish position, its other hand on the rocks holding itself up. Rin started to say something but it whispered 'ssshhh' again, raising the hand on Rin's chest and running it through Rin's hair. The siren seemed to be trying to calm Rin down and Rin's throat felt tight at the realisation that it was working. Inwardly, Rin felt frustrated but was too scared and overcome by desire to express it... he was completely at the sirens mercy, waiting for it to do something but what, _what_? His heart was _pounding_ in his chest, threatening to burst out of his ears, pulse fluttering in his throat at all of the tantalising sensations, at having something so inhumanly beautiful so close to his body-

'Listen,' Rin said, thickly. 'I'm new to sailing so I really need to know-'

'Shhh.'

'Stop telling me to 'sssh!' You're going to eat me, right?'

The siren looked down.

'Rin Matsuoka. I must... sacrifice you to the water.'

'Why?' Rin asked-so confused, aroused and distraught: he didn't know what he should be feeling... this was too much for his first trip as a sailor. 'What did I do?'

'Curse.'

'_What_ curse?'

'Demon.'

'I'm not a demon!' Rin yelled at it, desperately. 'You sirens are the demons! You drag sailors underwater, crash their boats and rip apart dolphins and whales... you and your sisters are the ones who don't belong! Look...' Rin was panicking. 'I don't understand. You say you're going to kill me, and then you start touching me and I... what do you want?'

Silence. Fear and panic swallowed Rin up whole. The siren had been following the boat, so Rin wasn't surprised that it had picked up Rin's name, but this proved a theory he had about this male siren being different.

All of the other sailors had talked about sirens as if they were malicious, reckless creatures, but this one didn't appear aggressive on the surface: Rin could tell by the look in its blue eyes that it watched silently, took everything in, heard and understood everything around it... it had even learned to speak. It was intelligent, and that frightened Rin.

Still... this siren kind of wanted Rin, right? For it to crawl right up to him and sit on top of his legs then stay there after feeling Rin's arousal... to touch him gently all over, to run its hands through Rin's hair and suck on his fingers.. if it wanted to kill Rin, then wouldn't he be dead by now? Rin closed his eyes and waited for the male siren to make a move, not sure if it would kiss him or bite off his head... but instead, the siren slid away, dropping back into the water with a splash.

'Follow,' it said. 'I will tell you.'

'Can't you just-'

The siren swam away to the back of the cavern. It didn't wait for Rin to follow, because it _knew_ Rin would come... there was an opportunity now for Rin to swim away out of the cave, back onto the rocks and get back to the ship, but he didn't take it... instead, he dropped down into the water and swam after the siren, down a small underwater channel. There was a hidden labyrinth of caves and Rin followed, twisting around corners and popping up wherever there was a shelf of air, eventually reaching a second cavern and sucking in a breath.

This one was deep underwater and also contained a floating surface, but everything around Rin glittered: the walls around him were covered in diamonds, little blue and white lights studding the rock like stars in the sky. Pools of water reflected the diamonds and everything shone... Rin turned back to the siren.

'What is this?' Rin asked, thickly. 'What are you?'

'Haruka.'

'Haruka...' Rin tested the word. 'Is that your name?'

A confident nod.

'That's... a nice name, but it's not what I meant... are you a siren?'

'Haru,' it said.

'_What_?'

'Haru. Have to call me-'

'What does it matter?' Rin yelled. 'Unless you want me screaming your name while you eat me... but you don't want to eat me. You want to 'sacrifice' me, but you haven't: I don't understand! Are you storing me?'

No reply. Rin dropped himself down on the rock.

'Either you want to kill me or you don't. If you don't, then I'm swimming back to my ship-'

'Stay,' Haru said. The word danced on his tongue, falling lovingly from his lips, seeming to reach out to Rin like a hand, an invitation... Rin swallowed.

_Fight it!_

'I have to get back to my ship. They'll be worried-'

'Coming to kill you.'

'Wh-what is?'

'Sirens.'

'_Sirens_?'

Ripples of cold flooded Rin with the word. Haru was half-dipped in water, his dark hair wet with drops, blue eyes staring back at Rin seriously. Rin shook his head.

_It's trying to trick me... _

'No,' he practically shouted. 'I spoke to the other sailors... sirens don't leave their territory!'

'Tonight. For you.'

'Why?'

'A curse.'

'You're repeating yourself,' Rin said, angrily. 'And that's impossible. Sirens never leave their grounds, but now you're telling me a colony of them have been following the boat and will attack tonight just to kill me? I haven't _done_ anything! Why?'

'Curse-' Haru repeated and Rin growled.

_Is he playing with me? Messing around? __  
_

Rin didn't know what to think. He watched Haru sceptically from where he was in the water, Haru's blue eyes inquiring.

'Rin.'

'What?'

'Rin.'

'Yeah, what do you-'

'Rin.'

'Stop saying my name!' Rin pulled his legs up to his chest, uncomfortable at how aroused his own name made him when Haru was the one who said it... with the way it made his body spark and his cheeks tinge with blush... he buried his nose in his knee.

'Rin,' Haru repeated and Rin ignored him.

'Rin...'

'Rin-!'

'What the_ hell_ is your problem?'

Haru laughed. It was a cute, sweet sound, even cuter with the image of Haru's eyelids scrunching... he was beautiful. Fascination gripped Rin as Haru's eyes opened and he stared: he was enthralled by Haru, in love with the little light points that swum in Haru's eyes when he smiled. Before Rin knew it Haru had swum closer, popping up in the water close to Rin so that they were a few inches apart, looking up at Rin over the side of the rock.

'Nonono.' Rin snapped at it. 'Go away. Back over there-'

_I'm helpless whenever you're near me..._

'Why?' Haru asked. 'When we both... want?'

'I have to get back to the ship,' Rin whispered. 'If we're going to be attacked by sirens then I have to warn the rest of the crew. They'll die-'

'Doesn't matter,' Haru said quietly, with a shake of his head. One of his cool, slippery hands settled on Rin's thigh... Rin took in a shaky breath. He could feel himself being pulled into desire, getting sucked in like a whirlpool-

'It does matter,' Rin pleaded. 'They're my friends. The ship is stopped for repairs and they'll all get eaten... if you say there are more sirens and they're after me, it'll all be my fault-'

'Rin.'

'Stop it. You know what you're doing to me, Haru, just stop it-'

'Rin.'

'STOP IT! Haru, please... they'll die...'

'Rin.'

The last one was whispered. A brief smile touched Haru's lips, as if Rin's name pleased him-arousal curled in the bottom of Rin's stomach, painful infatuation drowning out everything else as he climbed into the water, putting his arms around Haru's neck and kissing him hard on the lips.

Haru's mouth was warm and wet, folding softly around Rin's own, Rin kissing him once, pressing his tongue against the roof of Haru's mouth. Haru had such an allure that it disoriented Rin's sense of balance... he was so irresistible, and Rin wanted him...

He wanted Haru so badly...

Haru placed both of his hands on Rin's shoulders, Rin leaning in to bite the inside of Haru's cheek, splashing as he came closer to Haru in the water. Haru was rough-wild... his fingers went through Rin's hair, Rin kissing behind Haru's ears as Haru nipped the soft skin on his neck. Haru's tongue swirled around the inside of Rin's mouth when their lips met fiercely again, over and over, taking swipes at Rin's lips, licking around the line of his jaw. Rin's crotch pressed up against his scales as he felt so many textures all at once: the water-smooth and slippery-the sirens skin-firm and yet soft-Haru's lips-all of it driving Rin crazy... he took Haru and laid him back against the rock, climbing on top of him, his knees either side of the join in Haru's hips where skin faded into scales. Rin was about to do something when he stopped, chest heaving up and down, not knowing _what happens next _or how far to go... his impulses had completely taken over. Haru looked up from beneath Rin on the rock.

One of Haru's hands touched the muscle on Rin's arm, and the faint brush of Haru's palm sent sparks through Rin's body. The puddles of water on the rocks that Haru was laying against reflected the diamonds all around them and made it look as if he were resting in a pool of glistening stars... when Haru looked up at Rin through his fringe, he smiled softly and said the words:

'You will belong to me, soon.'


	5. Buried under the waves

**Luuka:** Haru is our cardholder: idk if any of you guys like trying to figure out the big mystery before all of the pieces come together (I dig that kind of thing in books) so if you do then you need to pay attention to not only what Haru knows, but HOW he knows it. I'm going to put so many things out there including red herrings so this fanfic may seem confusing, but I promise I know what I'm doing. And everything will be explained by the end.

This is 10-15 chapters. We're moving fast!

* * *

'You will belong to me, soon.'

Haru spoke the words confidently and something inside of Rin quivered.

'What makes you so sure of that?'

'Others will die,' Haru replied. 'Ship will get ripped apart by sirens. I can... help them... exchange for something.'

'What?'

'You,' Haru said, and Rin swallowed.

_What does that mean?_

'You want me...' Rin mumbled. 'Why?'

'Need consent before kill you.'

'Consent...' Rin snorted. 'You mean you couldn't kill me without consent?'

'No. Need to make promise before death: need your consent.'

_Huh?_

'Well, whatever,' Rin shrugged, because it was all the same to him: his life in exchange for the rest of the sailors... except, Rin wasn't really sure that Haru was telling the truth about the sirens coming to attack the boat-he could have made it up for everything Rin knew. Haru was impartial, his face giving nothing away and he was a siren, which existed to be manipulative...

'Listen,' Rin reasoned. 'The deal is this: you let me go back to the fishing ship and I stay there for the rest of the cycle, to collect fish then go back to my hometown. The ship has to stay safe during that period of time without any attacks or deaths... you have to ensure that. If we make it to my hometown unscathed, then I'll jump in the sea and you can have me.'

Haru shook his head.

'Can't keep ship safe for trip.'

'Why?'

'Sirens... can't hold all off. Only few.'

'Are all of them coming tonight?' Rin asked, and Haru nodded.

'Three hundred... to ambush ship in secret. For you.'

'I'm pretty special, huh..?' Rin mumbled, slumping down on the rock. 'But you- what's your relationship with the sirens?'

'Indifferent,' Haru replied, squaring his shoulders.

_Haru's not a part of the siren colonies?_

'And the sirens relationship to me?'

'Want you dead.'

'But so do you,' Rin pointed out. 'So, why do you care if I get eaten by sirens?'

There was a pause.

'Sirens want... rip you apart. I want... soul... forever: mine.'

'And that's where my consent comes in?'

Haru nodded. There were still some gaps, but Rin felt as if he understood a little more now, if only about Haru's goals. Haru needed Rin's 'consent,' and until he got it, Rin was safe... or rather, safer with him than the rest of the sirens; Haru wouldn't kill Rin until he made Haru a 'promise.'

'Can you tell me one more thing?' Rin asked. 'This curse is the reason the female sirens want me dead... what did I do to deserve to be cursed? I-I mean, I... this is my first time on a ship, and I didn't kill anybody, so why-'

'Did nothing,' Haru mumbled. 'Innocent... like I was.'

Haru shut down and didn't say anything else. Rin chewed on his bottom lip, pulling on a layer of skin with his teeth and thinking that he must have done _something_ to get cursed... but, again, Haru wasn't saying. How did Haru know that Rin was cursed, anyway? As far as Rin was concerned, it sounded like make-believe... but at the moment, he had to focus on the ship. Night was getting closer- Rin couldn't afford to stand around.

'Make sure everyone on the fishing ship gets off alive and you can have me... but break your end of the deal and I'll break mine-I won't do anything you say. Do you understand?'

'Mine now,' Haru whispered, pulling himself up and ghosting the words across Rin's lobe. Haru watched Rin shiver and smiled, dropping back into the water and swimming away.

'Where are you going _now_?' Rin demanded, climbing in and swimming after him, barley able to catch up with the way Haru sliced through the water... he couldn't keep up with anything Haru said or did: all of it was mind-blowing. Rin followed him back to the rocks where he lost sight of Haru, walking around the caves when Aiichiro rushed up to him.

'T-there you are!' Aiichiro grabbed his arm. 'R-Rin, you're in trouble! Mikoshiba thought you were deserting and he went _ballistic_... h-he said any longer and you'd be marooned-'

'Where would I desert to?' Rin asked, incredulously. 'This is a bunch of caves in the middle of the sea-'

'MATSUOKA!' Mikoshiba thundered, ground seeming to tremble as he came closer. 'Where the_ hell_ have you been? ...Why are your clothes wet?'

'I... that's not important! Captain, tonight, sirens will attack the ship-'

'I suppose the male siren told you that, did he?' Mikoshiba growled. 'Matsuoka, you've got a hell of a lot of explai... ah... explain...ing...'

Mikoshiba was staring at something over Rin's shoulder and Rin spun around to see that Haru had emerged from the water, bobbing up and down.

'Get my gun,' Mikoshiba whispered to Aiichiro who nodded and dashed away. Rin stood in front of the water by Haru protectively.

'No, you can't hurt him! Captain, he knows about the other sirens that will attack tonight-'

'Matsuoka, stand down,' Mikoshiba snapped, taking Rin's shoulder and pushing him firmly aside, crouching down on the rock a few centimetres from Haru. Haru stared back at him unblinking, blue eyes showing no fear.

'There really is a male siren,' Mikoshiba whispered. 'I can see the shadow of its tail under the water...'

'He's not an 'it.' Rin said, angrily. 'He's a male and his name is Haru. Haru, tell them what you told me about the sirens-'

'Rin,' Haru said. 'Can't make deal. Humans... deserve to die.'

'No, Haru, you have to-'

Haru disappeared underneath the water and Mikoshiba swore.

'Shit... where the _fuck_ is Nitori with my gun? That boy is too slow. All of the other sirens sing and scream, but this one _speaks-'_

'Captain,' Rin started to say. 'We can't leave these caves. I... according to that male, I have a curse and the female sirens are behaving abnormally to come and kill me because of it. They want to crash the boat... they've been following us-'

'We have to sail,' Mikoshiba replied. 'Matsuoka, there's a storm coming... we don't have time to hang around. The ship is fixed now... I'm more interested in that male...'

'Listen to me!' Rin screamed at him. 'At least let me stay here! That way, the sirens might be distracted but if you make me go with you, every one of you will die!'

Arguing didn't do Rin any good: he was grabbed underneath the arms and dragged back onto the ship, tied up to a mast with tape over his mouth.

'I-I'm really sorry, Rin,' Aiichiro whispered, as he tightened the ropes. Momotarou nodded beside him.

'This is a good punishment... the old captain made other mad sailors drink vinegar. Brother'll let you out soon.'

Rin slitted his eyes in response because he _knew_ he wasn't mad: the first time he'd witnessed Haru come up to him over the side of the ship, he'd questioned his own state of mind after constant rejection, but now refused to let it happen again-he _knew_ he hadn't imagined what Haru had told him... even if it was difficult to believe. Still, Rin desperately hoped Haru had lied about the siren attack, or would suddenly change his mind and help...

All he could do was wait. Waves sloshed against the side of the boat, the sky up above Rin swirling black and purple as rain fell, the drops so many, so frequently that they hurt his face, wind whirling in his eyes. Thunder roared and Rin shivered, convinced he was going to die. In a way, it benefited him being tied up as he was still whilst the ship rocked back and forth, lurching violently. The lanterns had all fallen down and shattered, sailors skidding across the wet deck, Rin unable to make out anything in the dark and wondering if a heart attack would finish him off before the female sirens got there-he was so frightened. His clothes and hair were soaked, knuckles white from the cold, crying silently because everyone around him was going to die and there was nothing he could do to prevent it-through the rain, Rin watched the rest of the crew get into the escape rowboats, hoping the sirens would focus on him as a decoy when they finally came...

Nothing in the world could have prepared him for the tidal wave that hit the ship then.

It was huge and came from nowhere-hundreds of times higher than the ship-crashing down, smashing it into splinters as Rin was sent through the air then back into the sea, the mast dragging him down. The ropes around Rin's arms were loosened and the mast sunk, Rin suspended in the blue water, the tape over his mouth ripped away so that a thin stream of bubbles escaped from a lips. He felt a palm touch his cheek and opened his eyes faintly... the image before him wavering...

Then two arms hauled him up to the surface of the water, Rin gasping for air.


	6. Lost in Blue

Waves lapped at Rin's back as he dragged himself to shore, coughing and panting as he crawled. He'd been dragged out of the tsunami... rescued by someone...

Before Rin could recall anything else, he collapsed.

* * *

Rin didn't know how long he'd been laying there but it was bright when he opened his eyes, the tide ebbing at his waist. Broken planks of wood and netting surrounded him, the remains of the ship he'd been a crew member of, now shipwrecked around him.

_What happened back there... a tsunami? There wind and the water were insane. __And that tidal wave... it smashed the ship into splinters with one hit! Are waves like that common during storms?_

The immense pressure of the water... just thinking about it made Rin shudder. The wave had been so brutal, so merciless... but what had happened after it hit?

Haru was laying on the sand a few metres from Rin where the tide had washed him out, his huge, aqua-scaled tail curled around his body. Even though Haru had said he wouldn't protect the ship from the sirens, he must have swum alongside it regardless and pulled Rin to shore during the crash... then collapsed of exhaustion. Rin crawled up to him and shook his shoulders.

'Haru... Haru!'

Haru opened his eyes.

'...Ri...'

Rin's eyes skimmed over Haru's body, heart fluttering in his chest. Injuries? None... breathing? Faint... Haru was weak-unable to get back into the water-fins twitching, but unharmed.

'Where are the others?' Rin demanded. 'What happened? Am I the only one alive?'

'Others alive,' Haru murmured. 'Other side of... beach. Cave.'

'Did you rescue them?' Rin asked. He didn't get a response.

If the others were alive, the crash had lost them their source of income, not to mention the millions of yen that their ship had been worth. They might blame Rin for the crash... still, Rin had to know. He pulled himself up from the sand.

'I'm going to find them. Haru, sit up... I'll drop you back into the sea-'

'Not going into sea.'

'You want to lie here and sunbathe?'

'No,' Haru replied. 'Go into cave with you. When you see others alive, make me promise?'

'It's too late for that!' Rin snapped. 'Haru, the deal was that you'd protect the ship and everyone on it, and _then _I'd give you myself in return, but you didn't-the ship crashed. You even called the deal off yourself, so no: I'm not promising you anything.'

'...Go with you anyway.'

'Why?'

Haru shrugged.

If he were more sensible, Rin thought, he would have left Haru on the sand to get picked at by seagulls, but he couldn't do that: even if it wasn't in Rin's nature, he knew that Haru didn't deserve that fate-especially after just saving Rin's life.

'Fine,' he said. 'I'll drag you along, but only because there's more I can learn from you.'

Rin told himself that was the reason 'why' he took the siren with him, even though Rin subconsciously knew that he didn't want them to part ways here-the idea of leaving Haru made Rin feel... strange. And Rin didn't think that Haru was a threat to him now: if he were out to kill Rin, Rin knew Haru wouldn't have rescued him from a ship crash... all the same, he didn't trust the siren. He bent down to scoop up Haru into his arms.

Years of hauling at the Iwatobi docks had given Rin a strong, muscular build, so carrying Haru was simple. Rin hooked an arm underneath Haru's tail whilst Haru's own went around Rin's neck, Rin carrying him around the edge of the beach to find the cave he'd mentioned.

_Is there a reason why I washed up on the beach but all of the others ended up in a cave? I know Haru rescued us all, so why did he separate me from the crew? Is it because Haru saved the escape boat then went back for me and collapsed?_

_...Are the others really all alive?_

Rin hadn't known them for long, but his old crew felt like a second family: Rin felt an ache in his ribcage at not seeing them again. There was quiet between him and Haru for several minutes, before Rin tried to break the ice:

'So...' Rin begun. 'How do you reproduce?'

Haru's lips quirked into a smile.

'Rin, so soon?'

'Don't get the wrong idea!' Rin growled. 'I was just... curious... as to how you do it with a tail. You're a male, aren't you?

'Obviously.'

'Well, then. You must have something that you... stick in female sirens and move around... somewhere on your body.'

'Hands,' Haru said.

'Please tell me you don't-'

'Hands,' Haru repeated. 'Slipping-tail on ground.'

'Oh... right.'

Haru wasn't heavy, but when you'd been carrying him for two hours he wasn't exactly light, either- Rin's grip had softened and Haru had slid down towards the sand. Rin rearranged him in his arms, finding it difficult to grip the scales.

'Hot.' Haru said.

'Well, I can't help that.'

'Sweaty,' Haru complained.

'Want to walk?' Rin asked, and then added: 'Oh wait, you can't.' Haru gave him an unamused look.

'Hungry.'

'Well, me too, but we're not eating yet. When it's evening I'll drop you in the sea to find us some fish, but until then you can wait. I'll tell you one thing, though.' Rin's stomach growled. 'Your tail is starting to look pretty delicious right now.'

'Not funny.'

'Does it taste like fish or human?'

'Cut it out.'

'Alright, alright!' Rin laughed. 'See? It's not so nice when another creature looks at you like food, is it? That's a lesson for you and your siren sisters.'

'Not a siren,' Haru mumbled, and Rin's gaze snapped toward him.

'What do you mean 'not a siren?' If you're not, then what are you? Wait... I'll rephrase that: do you know what you are?'

'Yes. But... can't tell you.'

'Why?'

'Because...'

Haru lapsed into silence and Rin tsked.

_I hate it when he does that._

But Rin knew better than to argue: he'd learned from past experiences that the more he pushed Haru, the more Haru closed down... better to let him reveal it in his own time when he got bored of being stubborn.

'Haru, this curse you say I have... will it turn me into a siren after I die? Because I-I've been thinking that i-if I became like you... I don't think that would be so bad...'

Haru shook his head.

'Turn you into demon. After death.'

_I'm carrying a curse that will turn me into a demon when I die..._

'Can I get rid of it?'

A headshake.

'Did you have the same curse as me?'

A headshake.

'But you said you were... like me?'

'Innocent. Once.'

The more Haru explained things, the more confused Rin got... he tried a different angle.

'Why do you want to kill me, Haru?'

'Save you.'

'Through death?' That was a little... morbid. 'Haru, when I give you my 'consent,' will I give my soul to you so I can't come back as a demon?'

'No. Have to break curse.'

'Break the curse, huh?' Rin muttered, with a tinge of hope-and doubt-in his voice. 'Haru, that sounds like it'll be difficult... wouldn't it be easier just to kill me? Why do you care if I die... or if I become a demon in the first place? What happens to me has nothing to do with you.'

'...My fault.'

Rin opened his mouth, but Haru shook his head.

'No more questions.'

Rin kept quiet for a few minutes, trying to combine what he'd just learned with everything he knew so far, but no leads were coming up. A small yawn pulled Haru's lips and he closed his eyes, rocked to sleep by Rin's arms.

'Fallen asleep? Okay for some...'

Whilst Haru slept, Rin used the time to probe his own feelings.

At the mention of Haru, Rin's thoughts seemed to tumble over each other- he had so many feelings regarding the mysterious siren. Haru had popped up out of nowhere, promised to kill him and then saved his life... there was something strong stirring inside of Rin that went a lot deeper than physical attraction.

After meeting Haru, Rin had been unable to sleep. Every night, he'd have dreams where Haru crawled up to him and Rin would wake up with their lips inches from each other's, Rin praying to himself that none of the other sailors had heard him moaning in his sleep. If they knew that Rin had passionately kissed a male siren of his own accord as Rin had in the underwater cave, he knew they'd never look at him in the same way again... and that was if they didn't feel like beating him to death-Rin couldn't tell any of them how he felt.

But _was_ Haru a siren? He had his own agenda. He swum around by himself and wasn't restrained to territories or clans, and had even told Rin that he was something else... but_ what_? And was he really trying to 'save' Rin, or acting for his own good?

Rin looked down at Haru sleeping in his arms. He looked so comfortable, powerful tail hanging over Rin's wrist, but there was still so much about Haru that Rin didn't know... that he wanted to know.

_Haru__..__. what are you really?_

* * *

Night fell and Haru woke up, Rin carrying him to the ocean.

'What do you eat?' Haru asked.

'I'm starving, so anything is good.'

'Favourite?'

'I'm not picky with fish. My favourite food is meat, but I doubt you could find that here so just get whatever you can find.'

'Meat...' Haru appeared thoughtful. 'Wait.'

Whilst Haru hunted, Rin collected some palm tree leaves and driftwood to start a fire. Seeing Haru's head in the water, Rin walked up to the shore to get him, Haru passing something large and heavy to Rin through the waves... far too big to be a fish. It took Rin a few seconds to realise that it was a dead penguin.

'I don't want that!' Rin tried to keep himself from screaming. 'Haru, get that thing away from me!'

Haru looked confused at Rin's rejection-obviously having hoped to impress Rin-and Rin knew that he hadn't meant any harm: Haru lived in the sea, so his idea of 'meat' was different to Rin's. Rin dropped Haru down onto the sand by the fire, mackerel spilling out of his arms.

'Do you want me to cook-'

Too late. Haru chewed on a mackerel raw, Rin grimacing as he heard the fish bones crunch in his teeth-Rin cooking his own before eating them. After he finished, he lay down with Haru next to him, both of them watching the stars.

'I thought you ate people,' Rin begun. 'But you like mackerel?'

'Tastes good.'

'Fair enough. And you... don't interact with the female sirens?'

It was a very laced way of saying: 'do you have a girlfriend?' Haru seemed to pick up on this, because his lips curved into a thin smile.

'Like men?'

'S-shut up,' Rin snapped, flushing. 'I suppose you're going to make fun of me?'

'No,' Haru whispered. 'Because... the same.'

Rin heard himself swallow, and everything seemed louder. The thump of his heartbeat threatened to burst out of his ears and he moved closer to Haru by several inches. He couldn't make another move on Haru... there was a species barrier! But then again, Haru had told Rin that he was going to die, so it wouldn't hurt to do this... would it? And he was sure that Haru wanted it, too...

Rin's eyes flickered down to Haru's lips.

'Rin?'

'Wh-what is it?'

'Kiss.'

So Rin kissed him.

It started out as a peck but they both quickly decided they wanted more, Rin moaning embarrassingly loudly into Haru's mouth as Haru grabbed the lapels of his sailor suit to drag Rin closer, their mouths crashing together. Rin ended up on top of Haru with Haru's arms around his neck before Haru raised them to rake through Rin's hair, Rin gripping the dark strands of Haru's and pulling, pinning him down against the sand and making suck noises as he dragged Haru's lip. Haru bit around Rin's neck and he moaned.

'H-Haru... let's stop here.'

Haru looked back at Rin with an expression of hurt.

'...don't like kissing me.'

'Why do you think that?'

'Not human like you. Have a tail.'

'It doesn't matter.' Rin shook his head. 'I think you're beautiful, Haru-all of you. Especially your tail.'

Haru smiled shyly and the tip of his tail waved back and forth, fins curling at the ends in an obvious sign of happiness. Then, the movements ceased and his eyes dropped, smile disappearing from his face.

'Wouldn't think so,' Haru said, sadly. 'If knew truth.'

'You don't know that until you tell me,' Rin tried, taking Haru's hand in his and Haru turned away towards the sea.

'No,' he replied. 'I know.'

Their faces were close enough for Rin to see each pore of Haru's skin, every individual dark hair that made up each eyebrow-he swept Haru's fringe from his face, kissing him softly again.

'It's not that I don't like kissing you, Haru, I'm just... confused... as to what happens next. You don't have the same parts as I-'

The scales underneath Haru's bellybutton begun to split, drawing apart, and Rin felt a bump push him up slightly where he was sitting. Looking down to find the source of the bump, Rin noticed a small, ovular hole and... something else that hadn't been there before.

'Kept that hidden, didn't you?' Rin muttered, now knowing that Haru was_ without a doubt_ a male. Rin's skin begun to prickle as Haru's hand raised up to touch his arm, the cool skin feeling good, Rin's face heating up with the seconds. His emotions were wrestling each other, heart beating in rapid staccato, he wanted...

He wanted...

'Rin.' Haru's voice was composed.

'What?'

'Don't overthink.'

Their next kisses were open-mouthed, wet and hot, Rin rocking himself on top of Haru. The hormonal response inside of Rin was explosive, his body easily stimulated by the texture of Haru's scales, hands slipping and sliding on Haru's skin... he unbuttoned his dungarees, sitting naked on Haru with Haru's hands on his thighs.

Rin's toes curled as he moved, his quick breaths turning into pants, the slightly musty smell of arousal all around them... but Rin liked it. Haru's nails went into Rin's back as he moved with Haru on the sand, together... until the blue of night turned into black and the first hints of dawn started to ebb at the horizon of the ocean. Eventually, Rin rolled away, breathing out in bursts.

The sky was red-black, seeming to twist into the sea to make one giant, luminous body... this night seemed unreal. It was too illusory, as if Rin were on some strange drug that could suddenly wear off without warning, or in the middle of a dream that he could wake up from any second... the aftermath of his orgasm hummed in Rin's body. The tide went in and out, and Rin lay still and thought.

The stars twinkled up above him and Rin gave a small sigh, moving to lie on his side. Haru curled his tail around Rin's legs and put his head on Rin's chest, their lungs going up and down in a slow, soft rhythm.

'Good night, Haru.'


	7. Uncharted Water

It was almost morning when Rin woke up, the dawn sky lined with crimson. On the ship, Rin had often been awakened by jolts so wasn't used to sleeping a full night... he rolled over to Haru to see that he was gone. Panic spread through Rin like wildfire frantically as he looked around.

Rin was far from the tide, no marks on the sand but Haru had disappeared. He ran towards the sea, knee deep in the water and screamed:

'HARU!'

The black ocean gave no response. Rin rushed into the jungle around the beach, making his way through the trees.

He hadn't been searching for long when he started to hear voices. Following them, Rin tiptoed closer, hiding behind a tree as he listened:

'...asking a lot, and it doesn't seem to be worth it to me.'

'Bring Rin back.'

The first voice Rin didn't recognise, but the second one belonged to Haru-Rin peered out to see that Haru was sitting with his back toward him, scales glinting in the drops of water from nearby plants. Haru must have gotten the other person to carry him here... but how? There hadn't been any footprints in the sand.

Rin looked at the other person. He was a male: tall with windswept, blue hair and red glasses, something attached to the underside of each arm that looked like brown, feathered wings, but they couldn't be... could they?

'I don't know, Haruka...' the stranger trailed off. 'This isn't what we're meant for. No... I don't want to get involved in this: I already have enough on my hands with the typhoons that your tides cause. I wasn't at all impressed with that wave of yours yesterday night.'

'Another way.'

'There isn't one I can think of. The only way for a demons curse to be undone is for the demon to undo it himself or a blood sacrifice to be made, so if the curse has carried across to him then he needs to die. Better to get him early if he's the only one before it passes down to any other generations and you're stuck with the consequences forever.'

'Sirens after him. Coming here now,' Haru said, and the man nodded.

'It's only natural they would go out of their way... I wouldn't want to be in their position, either! Ah... but there is one other thing I can think of: if you can find the demon who cast the curse and kill it, then Rin won't have to die.'

'...Can't do that.'

'Then I can't be of any help. Haruka, this is quite... abnormal... of you to take up a fascination with this; this is the kind of behavior that anyone would associate with... well... _you know_-'

The conversation was too fast paced for Rin to be able to keep up. His head swum as he walked back to the beach, ideas orbiting and flickering in his brain-leaving Haru to himself. Rin lay down on the sand with his arms pillowed behind his head, watching the sun come up.

Rin would trust Haru for now and hope he wouldn't come to regret that decision later.

* * *

'Wake!'

...

'_Rin_!'

Sunlight shone down on Rin's face and he squinted as he opened his eyes. Haru was somewhere above him, shaking Rin's shoulders. When Rin pushed away his hands and rolled over, he heard Haru give a frustrated sigh.

'Rin,' Haru said. 'Pregnant.'

'W-what?'

Rin shot up from the sand.

'Y-you can't be. I-I mean, you're a _male_... H-Haru, you didn't tell me this would happen-!'

'Not really,' Haru said. 'Had to wake you up.'

'Oh...'

Rin felt himself flush and he punched Haru in the arm.

'Haru, that wasn't funny! I was worried!'

'Gullible.'

'Let's just go,' Rin growled. He pulled on his bottom layers then fastened his blue and white sailors dungarees over the top, running his fingers through his hair to brush it-back aching in protest as he picked up Haru. There weren't any footprints in the sand, no evidence that Haru had been carried away during the night-almost as if he'd never gone at all... still, Rin knew he hadn't been dreaming. He opened his mouth to ask about it when Haru pulled on his sleeve.

'Rin.'

The torso of a woman stuck up from the ocean, another one pulling herself up beside the first-their red eyes fixed on Rin, seething.

'Found you...' Haru murmured. Rin was unable to respond.

Female sirens terrified Rin and he wasn't afraid to admit it: they were all beautiful, but Rin knew they had teeth that elongated to the size of glinting needles, faces that scrunched up like the folds of fabric... they were creatures out of a nightmare, if not Hell itself. More were popping up out of the water, some grappling their way along the sand with sharp nails, dragging themselves up the shore.

'Look at me,' Haru said, pushing Rin's cheek to look him in the face.

'H-Haru...' Rin whispered. 'I'm scared... I-I can't block it out-'

Some of the sirens were giving shrill screams which unintentionally cancelled out the singing of the others, but the sheer noise was driving Rin crazy...

'Cut through jungle,' Haru ordered and Rin gave a weak nod as Haru's hands covered his ears. He focused on Haru's face as he walked, further and further in until Rin couldn't hear the sirens anymore, dropping Haru on the earth and wrapping his arms around his legs, trembling.

'They really are after me...' Rin murmured. Goosebumps covered his skin, wanting to be sick from the fear until Haru's voice brought him back to reality:

'Let's go.'

Rin took several large breaths to steady himself before picking Haru up, making his way through the jungle.

* * *

The jungle was hot and humid, a temperature that made Rin's throat feel like sandpaper. Haru wasn't helping: he kept leaning up to kiss Rin, touching him through his uniform.

'I don't appreciate that, Haru.' Rin said, after Haru had figured out how to undo the buttons on Rin's polo, watching Rin's face for a reaction. Haru's own expression was calm but Rin was sure that inside he was smirking.

'Bored.'

'You are the most aggravating-'

Haru's fingers tugged one of Rin's nipples and Rin gasped loudly, trying to ignore the pulling in his crotch and _think logically_ instead of focusing on Haru... it was difficult.

'Haru, I'm gonna put you down and leave you in the jungle in a minute.'

'Go ahead.'

It was an empty threat and they both knew it; Rin gave Haru a hard stare which Haru matched, Rin turning away with a tsk.

'What are you hoping to gain out of this?' He demanded. 'Do you want to stop and have sex?'

'Yeah.'

'It's not happening. Put that away!' Rin growled, adding the last part when Haru's scales started to split in the middle for his reproductive organs to come out; as much as Rin wanted it, too, he knew they couldn't afford to stop. If Rin missed the rest of the crew then he'd be stranded on this island... they reached an edge of the jungle, emerging by a cave near the water.

'Escape boat washed here by tide.' Haru told Rin. 'Others still inside?'

'Only one way to find out.'

Rin dropped Haru down into the sea then waded through the cave, climbing onto a surface of rock-he couldn't see anyone. Stalagmites hung like icicles from the cave ceiling, dripping with beads of water, a wooden escape boat lying overturned by the entrance.

'It looks like they already moved.' Rin sighed. 'Mikoshiba's ship sent out signals every couple of minutes to broadcast it's location, so after it got smashed by that wave and the signals stopped, Iwatobi would have picked up on it and sent a rescue ship to look for crew members and scavenge the remains... all I have to do is wait.'

'Go back to your home?'

'I have to,' Rin was unable to meet Haru's eyes. 'Haru, I miss my family... do you have a family?'

'Alone.'

'Then you can't understand,' Rin crouched down on the rock beside Haru in the water. 'My mother and my sister care about me... they'll be worried.'

'Stay. Get rid of curse.'

Rin shook his head.

'I can't stay-I don't trust you! Haru... this situation makes me feel uneasy. Last night, we went inside of each other's bodies and the longer I spend with you, the more I think I'm in love with you, so I deserve to know what's going on: if I'm cursed then tell me why.'

Haru pulled himself up on the rock with his tail in the water beside Rin.

'Rin... ask you question first?'

'You can ask me anything,' he replied. 'And I'll answer as best as I can.'

'Father... do you miss him?'

The question made Rin freeze. It had come from nowhere, seemingly pulled from thin air.

'H-Haru... how did you know about that?'

At Iwatobi, gossip was a pastime so practically everyone knew that Rin's Father had died just over eight years ago, but this was something Haru_ couldn't_ know-Haru lived in the sea, and he hadn't overheard it from Mikoshiba's ship because Rin hadn't mentioned his Dad to any of the crew... so, how?

'I-I guess...' Rin thought about the question. 'I guess I do miss him, although I try to push it to the back of my head. He's gone, you know? He isn't coming back.'

'Love him?'

'Yeah...' Rin started to feel fond. 'He was my idol. Haru, he was the captain of a rice ship... it wasn't very successful for the first few years and nobody believed in him, then all of a sudden he had a breakthrough. We were going to be rich but his ship crashed into an iceberg on the way back from a trip and he lost everything... including his life.'

Haru watched Rin carefully.

'Want to know truth about curse?'

'I do.'

'Will regret. Better not knowing.'

'I want the truth,' Rin repeated, confident he could take it.

'Curse is...' Haru started. 'Bloodline. Matsuoka males: 100 generations enslaved to Hell as demon after death. Curse ends after last male of bloodline at a time dies.'

The last male of the bloodline at a time... right now, Rin knew that was him.

'Why?'

'Matsuoka... blood-stained name. Killed lots of women.'

'I didn't-'

'Not you.'

It took Rin a moment to process what Haru was implying, but not saying.

'N-no...' Rin _couldn't_ hear it. 'N-no, my Dad wouldn't! H-he was a rice ship captain-'

'Not rice,' Haru replied. 'Females. Kidnapped from... different countries... sex slave trader.'

'No,' tears pricked in Rin's eyes. 'You don't know what you're talking about! My father is dead, so don't you dare-'

'Truth.'

'Shut UP!' Rin grabbed Haru by the shoulder, hands shaking as he gripped Haru's skin. 'Take that back,' he snarled in Haru's face. 'He wasn't like that... Haru, you didn't know him! Tell me it's not true... tell me you're lying...'

Rin's red eyes searched Haru's blue ones for a hint of doubt, but it didn't come: it was never going to come. He stood.

'You're manipulating me,' Rin snapped. 'You must get such a thrill out of fucking around with my head! That's why you keep me alive for so long... just to mess me up-'

'Protecting you!' Haru yelled.

'_Why_?' Rin screamed back. 'Why go out of your way? What do you care if I get turned into a demon or stuck in Hell-what's my life to you?!'

Haru shrugged, cheeks tingeing pink and went back underneath the water to be alone. Rin kicked the surface, angrily.

'Well, I'm telling you I don't need- HARU!'

A bullet grazed the water where Haru had gone in and Rin's heart threw itself against his ribcage, terrified that he'd see red tingeing the surface. He was so scared for Haru that Rin didn't notice the arm locking around his own neck, crushing his windpipe.

'We-he-hell...' a voice said. 'Matsuoka, huh? We thought you were dead.'

The arm came away and Rin crumpled, dropping to the rock and coughing. There were two middle aged men that Rin recognised as former crew members from Mikoshiba's ship... behind them was Aiichiro, averting his eyes.

'We heard voices from the caves but didn't expect_ this_.' One of the men said, slitting his eyes at Rin. 'Matsuoka, how are you alive? Wait, I don't give a shit... where did that male siren go?'

'R-Rin can t-talk to it...' Aiichiro mumbled. 'I-I saw it with Captain Mikoshiba. I-it won't speak to anyone else, but it comes to Rin... R-Rin said i-its name was H-Haru-'

'_Ai_!' Rin said the name angrily, overcome by a sense of betrayal-he'd thought Aiichiro had been his friend. One of the men moved closer to Rin.

'Hmn... is that true? Matsuoka, call the siren.'

'I can't.'

'Don't be thick,' the man snarled. 'Matsuoka, you don't know how much we need it! It's the only male siren ever reported to exist... if we could capture it alive, you have no idea how much money we could make-'

'Besides,' the other man sneered. 'You owe it to us. Matsuoka, you told Mikoshiba that it was_ your_ fault the sirens attacked our ship! When we lost that ship we lost our homes, our jobs and that was all because of you, so I won't ask again: _call the fucking male siren.'_

Rin spat in his face.

The action earned him a punch in the stomach and Rin was grabbed, hearing a smooth, metallic click as a pocket knife was held against his throat.

'Call the male siren,' the sailor breathed into his ear. 'Or I'll cut your throat.'

'Go to Hell.'

Rin's head was jerked back and the point of the knife was pressed against his chin, heart heaving in his chest.

'Then we'll try something else,' the sailor snarled. 'Siren... your name was Haru, right? Are you still here?'

The water was quiet.

'If you're still somewhere in this cave then I bet you've heard every word of this. I hear you follow Matsuoka around... is he important to you?'

Quiet.

'We want to strike a deal. We don't want to mark your pretty skin because that will decrease your value and we don't want you to hurt any of us, so we'll do it painlessly, okay? Let us capture you or we'll kill Matsuoka.'

Haru's head popped up from the water.

'_No,_' Rin moaned. 'Haru, no-'

'Shut up,' the sailor snapped at Rin, digging the handle of the knife into the groove of Rin's neck before turning to addressee Haru. 'Come closer... don't try anything clever. Start to sing or try to attack and it won't take a second for me to flex my wrist and make Matsuoka paint the rocks red.'

Haru's eyes remained on Rin's as Aiichiro rushed back into the cave-having disappeared unnoticed at some point-passing a net to the other crew member who slipped it around Haru, the material coiling on his tail. The same sailor then lifted Haru from the water and onto the rock beside Rin, binding Haru's hands.

'Rin,' Haru said. 'It will be okay.'

Haru spoke in a strong, unwavering tone. Rin wanted to nod but he was too scared to speak or swallow in case his throat brushed the blade of the knife; the sailor holding Rin hostage smirking against his ear.

'Okay, huh?' The sailor murmured.

The knife pulled back against Rin's throat, and Haru screamed.


	8. Into the Abyss

The blade of the knife dug into Rin's throat at the same moment he heard Haru scream his name. Rin had just drawn what he was sure was his last breath when he felt a small dribble of blood trail down his collar.

_I'm alive.__.._

'Sorry about that,' Rin heard the sailor say, in a self-satisfied voice. 'I had a twitch.'

The cool point of the knife had pressed against Rin's throat whilst the blade skimmed his collar, creating a small, open slit that hadn't gone any deeper than skin. Rin opened his eyes to see Haru next to him, taking in deep breaths.

But that wasn't the only thing Rin noticed: there was water covering the surface of the rock. Although before the rock had been several centimetres above the water level of the cave, from the time Rin had closed his eyes and felt the knife against his collar-a period of less than two seconds-water had risen up from nowhere and soaked him up to his lap, swirling in a vortex around him... but he was in a cave: there wasn't any wind. Rin was pushed up-knife still against his throat- and was made to walk out of the cave onto the beach, the second sailor carrying Haru behind him. The rest of crew from Mikoshiba's former ship were gathered on the sand by an edge of the jungle. Mikoshiba rushed up to Rin.

'Matsuoka?! Is that... _no_?!'

Mikoshiba quickly forgot about Rin when he noticed Haru in the arms of the sailor behind him, his tail wrapped in a net. Mikoshiba's eyes glimmered as he examined Haru-mentally assessing his worth-and the sailor holding Rin hostage explained the situation. Rin was tied to a tree with some salvaged rope, Haru placed on the sand beside him.

'Are you alright?' Rin asked, even though he looked a lot worse than Haru-Rin's white sailors uniform was bloodstained from the cut on his neck, and fine trembles were still running through him at the experience of almost having his throat slit.

'Rin?'

'What is it?'

'Kiss?'

'No,' Rin managed weakly. 'Not now. The other sailors are watching us.'

'Kiss later?'

'I promise,' Rin replied, wanting to kiss Haru because-if only for a moment- it would help him wind down after everything these past few days had hurled at him, but Rin didn't want to give the other sailors an excuse to make him bleed any more.

Rin knew that Haru had probably rescued the other sailors from the tsunami in the hopes of using them as bargaining chips to get Rin to make a 'promise...' but that wasn't going to work now. Something stirred inside of Haru's eyes which frightened Rin; if his blue depths were a sea, Rin knew that a storm was coming inside of them, dark clouds fogging up his irises. Rin listened to Mikoshiba as he talked to a nearby sailor:

'...If we could sell it at an auction, it would be more than worth what we lost in that crash.'

'Captain, would you buy another ship?'

'A new ship wouldn't even scratch it-it has the financial potential to set us all for life! Catching a female siren and selling it is enough for you to live in riches without having to lift a finger, so a male one would be... ah, that thing's a money-maker. You can be sure about that!'

Something inside of Rin coiled at the way Haru had been called a: 'thing.' Momotarou made his way over to Rin and crouched down beside him.

'Iwatobi will have picked up on the fact that our ship stopped broadcasting a location around this island and sent someone to get us by now, so we should be here for two nights, max. My brother wants to keep you hostage, so as long as we get that siren you should be safe... sorry it had to come to this.'

Rin snorted.

'Less than a week ago, we ate and slept together and now you're treating me like shit..?'

'I'm sorry, Rin, but there's money involved-you know the way it works: it's every man for himself in these waters, and... right now, the rest of the crew don't like you. Ever since you joined our ship, sirens have attacked us abnormally and they think you're a bad luck omen-they think you're cursed.'

_Then they got one thing right_, Rin thought to himself. He tried a shot in the dark.

'Momo, you've been sailing all your life... what do you know about curses?'

'Honestly,' Momotarou stretched. 'I think it's a load of crap but I've heard rumours. They say that whenever a human with strong regrets or unfulfilled desires loses their life in these seas, a demon appears before them and offers to make a deal for a price.'

'What kind of price are we talking?' Rin asked.

'Usually your soul,' Momotarou paused. 'But it depends on what you want-demons are crafty and there's always conditions, so the person who makes the deal usually comes out just as bad as who they want to avenge-in some cases, worse.'

Rin took a moment to disentangle himself from the maze of misinformation in his head.

'Say...' he begun, slowly. 'Say that there were a bunch of women who were kidnapped as sex slaves... a-and their ship crashed and they died at sea... do you think a demon would have appeared before one of them and offered to make a deal to avenge the captain of the ship by putting a curse on all the males of his family... but the deal backfired somehow and the women ended up as sirens as a result of that deal, too?'

'Where the hell did that come from?' Momotarou laughed. 'I don't know because I think it's all superstitious bullshit, but yeah... yeah, I guess that could have happened. Any woman who'd died as a sex-slave would be sure to hate males so she'd have her soul dragged back to life based on those feelings and end up crashing ships until her spirit was freed, gathering more souls for the demon... the demon would have a pretty smooth end of the bargain. But there are about three hundred sirens estimated, so that's a pretty powerful demon... not one I'd want to meet!' Momotarou unfolded himself from the sand. 'But, like I said: superstitious bullshit. You've got a good imagination, Rin.'

Momotarou walked off and Rin turned to Haru, who'd been listening.

'My Dad was dead by the time one of those women made a deal, wasn't he?' Rin asked him. 'The hem of the ship hit the iceberg first, which was where he was steering... so, his spirit would have already passed on, which means I'll be the first male to suffer the consequences of the curse in his name. You said that when the Matsuoka bloodline becomes extinct of males at any point, the curse will end... so does that mean that when I die, the sirens trapped spirits' will be set free and any future generations of my family won't be affected?'

When Haru didn't respond, Rin spoke again:

'You know, your version of the story left out the demons, Haru.'

'Not important.' Haru replied, with a shrug.

Rin wondered about that.

* * *

The rescue ship came the next afternoon and all of the crew boarded. Rin took one last look at the sun before it dipped out of sight and he was forced down the steps, into the cargo hold. Haru's hands were bound and a second net was wrapped around his tail before he was dropped on the concrete. All of the crew bar Mikoshiba and Aiichiro-who couldn't seem to face being in the same room as Rin-gathered around Haru in a circle.

'Shit...' Rin heard one of the sailors breathe. 'It's fucking _beautiful._'

Haru recoiled a little, shoulders drawing tighter as his fins pricked up at the ends-all of these Rin recognised as signs of tension.

'Leave him alone,' Rin demanded. 'He's sensitive! He doesn't like-'

The words fell on deaf ears; one of the sailors came forward and pulled on Haru's cheek.

'It was a lot prettier when we found it in the cave,' the sailor remarked. 'It's gone all bad now. The skin's dry... disgusting.'

'He's dry,' Rin yelled, angrily. 'Because he needs to be in water! He's fucking aquatic-'

'...don't touch me...' Haru said quietly-so quietly, that Rin almost missed the sound. It was like a whisper in the wind.

'It spoke!' The sailor laughed at Haru. 'Or, what?' He leaned close to Haru's face. 'What are you going to do, huh?'

There was a flash of teeth and Rin saw red spray as Haru reached into the other man's throat and bit down on it, hard. The man gave an agonised scream then went quiet, blood spilling from his neck as his body fell to the floor with wide eyes.

'No... NO-!'

_Haru killed him..._

Red liquid gushed onto the floor and Rin swayed, his stomach lurching as he saw flakes of the blood on Haru's pale skin, Haru's eyes looking back at him with no sorrow or remorse. Rin was about to collapse when he heard one of the sailors from the circle scream and charge forward, drawing back his fist to punch Haru when Rin grabbed his arm. Rin was shoved down onto the floor as the sailor turned his anger on him.

'You're-going to-fucking-defend it?' The sentence was punctuated by kicks. 'After what you just saw, you think that_ thing _deserves to stay alive? I say we should sell it dead-'

'STOP IT!' Momotarou grabbed the sailors arm to hold him back. 'You're going to kill Rin... stop it! We'll shut the siren in a cage... noone else is to go near it until we reach shore.'

Haru was taken deeper into the cargo hold and curled up inside a cage that was meant for a large dog with scarcely enough room for him to sit, his spine bent over slightly. In the dark of the room, Rin could only see faint outlines: Rin had insisted on coming with Haru, a sailor keeping watch over them both by the door. There were bruises on Rin's ribs and he was a little bloody, but otherwise unharmed.

'Sorry,' Rin said. 'I'm not very good at protecting you... all I do is get beat-up.'

'Brave, Rin,' Haru replied, fingers curling around a square in the grate of the cage with what Rin made out to be a soft smile-Rin almost fell for it, but then remembered that Haru had just killed a person before his eyes.

'Haru... about what happened back there-'

'Didn't want you to see.'

'Is that what you're really like? I love you.' Rin's voice was a whisper. 'Haru, I really do, but there are so many things about you that I don't understand. What are you?' Rin looked into Haru's eyes seeking reassurance, but could only become lost in their depths.

'Human.'

'You're not human,' Rin sighed. 'Your tail is just the start of that. Wherever you go, strange things happen... water levels rise when you get upset, a tsunami hits the ship I'm on to crash it before sirens could attack it... I don't know how, but I'm starting to think that you were the one who created that wave and crashed Mikoshiba's ship because you didn't want me to go, which is why you put me on the beach away from the others. Then the other night, I saw you talking to a man with wings underneath his arms... just what the hell was he?!'

'Can't tell you... made promise to other three. Must keep existence a secret.'

'What _other three_?' Rin demanded. 'Nothing you say makes sense! You hide the truth then when you finally tell me, you conveniently miss out important facts... Haru... everything I've heard since I've started sailing has pointed to the fact that you're a demon. You can do things I can't explain, you want me to make a promise before you kill me which sounds suspiciously like a deal and you know about the curse on the sirens-'

'Know everything about ocean. Job.'

'So that makes you, what... a water guardian?'

'Human,' Haru repeated, with a tone of desperation in his voice that seemed to come from the heart of the ocean itself. 'Rin... just like you.'

'I don't know what you are,' Rin shook his head. 'But we're not the same.'

'Are.'

'We _aren't__-__'_

For Haru to peruse this argument wasn't like him: usually, whenever Haru had a point to make, he'd say it and if Rin didn't believe him then that was Rin's problem as Haru would lapse into silence without caring... Rin didn't know why Haru kept going so seriously with this, when it seemed like an obvious lie. He tried breaking it down slowly.

'Haru, look at your tail then my legs... we're different.'

'Tail doesn't matter. You said-'

'I _said_ I don't dislike you for your tail,' Rin corrected. 'Not that it means you're human like I am. Maybe you were human at one point but you're not anymore... and I'm sorry for that.'

'Tail is only difference,' Haru said, firmly. 'Human soul. Same as you.'

As much as Rin wanted to believe that he and Haru were the same, he just didn't buy it: Haru was still hiding something, but... there was a look in his eyes that made it seem as if Haru really believed the words he'd said-as usual, Rin didn't know what to think. The only sounds came from the tremors and vibrations of the ship.

'Haru... you know that the members of this ship are going to auction you... and whoever buys you will use you for whatever they want. They could have you stuffed or cut open and examined-'

'Won't die,' Haru replied.

'B-but-'

'Won't die,' Haru repeated. 'So... you either.'

'I'm not gonna die,' Rin muttered, not sure how Haru could be worried about _him_ in his position. 'I'm cursed. You still have to save my soul, remember?'

There was quiet for a few minutes and Rin's mind fell back to the night he and Haru had met, searching for clues amid his memories. Haru had pulled his arms up over the ship in the middle of the storm, turmoil and chaos, looking so peaceful and innocent- in Rin's mind, Haru had switched from male siren to demon, but now Haru said he had a human soul-so, which one of those was true... or was Haru something else entirely? Rin supposed all he could do was talk, to see if Haru unintentionally gave something away-whatever the other male was hiding, Rin was sure he had his reasons: Rin just didn't know what they were.

'Haru, that night we met... why did you come up to me on the ship?'

'Heard your name,' Haru said. 'Matsuoka... knew about curse. ...liked.'

'You _liked_ me?' Rin laughed-he'd never expected something so simple and cute to fall from Haru's lips. 'I thought you were going to pull me into the ocean and drown me.'

'Water won't hurt you,' Haru replied. 'Likes you, too.'

'I'm, uh, glad to hear that,' Rin said, not sure if the ocean had a consciousness but not pressing the details.

'...Lonely,' Haru continued, in a depthless voice. 'Not supposed to feel... can't tell others.'

'The other three?' Rin prompted, remembering how Haru had mentioned those earlier. 'You mean that man with wings and the two other... people... you mentioned-you can't tell them how you feel?'

Haru nodded.

'Don't feel things like I do.'

'Then why are you different?' Rin asked.

'Mistake.'

_...__Haru..._

'There isn't anything wrong with wanting company,' Rin said, not understanding what Haru was talking about but hating the sadness in his eyes. 'No matter what anyone else tells you. Haru, the other ones are wrong for not being able to feel anything-it's normal to get lonely.'

Haru shook his head.

'No place now. Not anywhere.'

'Then I'll create a place for you,' Rin replied. 'With me-and you won't ever be lonely again as long as I'm around. Haru-' Rin crawled closer to the cage. 'Kiss?'

The sailor by the door who was supposed to be watching them had fallen asleep, not that it made a difference-Rin pressed his face up to the cage to feel Haru and Haru pressed back, both of them kissing softly through a square of the metal grate. It was uncomfortable and difficult, but Rin kissed Haru as deeply as he could manage, pulling on Haru's lower lip and sucking it, feeling warmth at the seams where their mouths connected between the mesh of the cage.

As Haru closed his eyes and tucked his head into his tail to sleep, Rin hoped he could find a way to be comfortable. There was so much running through Rin's head as he listened to the restless waves outside, their splashes mirroring his own state of mind. There was the curse on the males of his family, Rin knowing that-at some point-he'd have to die in order to pay for his Father's sin and set the trapped spirits of the sirens free... then go to Hell in his Father's place, due to the curse of an anonymous demon. On top of that was the stirring sensation in his stomach that felt like paper butterflies, because Rin knew he was in love, but didn't know what he was in love with-only that it went by the name of 'Haru,' and was shrouded in arcana.


	9. Mercy of the sea

Five days on the pick-up ship passed and Rin started to wonder if they'd missed Iwatobi. He went to the deck to inquire about their destination.

'Change of plan,' Mikoshiba informed him. 'We're not going to Japan-we're going to England instead. I've sent some telegrams to the London auction hall and they're going to publish some promotional material for that male siren... you know, London is the industrial capital of the world at present-all of the big buyers will be there. It's the best place to get the most money out of that siren.'

Rin went back down to the cargo hold to see Haru, who's skin was coated in ash.

'They're taking you to England,' Rin told him, moodily. 'Mikoshiba still wants to auction you, although I don't know anything about any potential buyers.'

'Rin,' Haru begun. 'Don't go to auction.'

'Why?'

'Don't want you to see.'

The words made Rin feel uncertain... he touched Haru's fingers through a square of the cage.

'I'll promise not to watch,' he begun. 'If you promise me that whatever you're going to do, you won't hurt anyone, okay?'

Haru's eyes became vacant and he lapsed into silence. Rin set his head in his hands.

'Haru,' he pleaded. '_Please _don't hurt anyone. You're not a malevolent creature... you're not...'

Haru didn't give a response.

* * *

Another week on the ship passed, most of which Rin spent in the cargo hold with Haru, before they finally docked in London.

London was... unusual-Rin had never seen so many buildings in one place. Redbrick, chiselled, brown and white... although as impressive as it was, there was just as much filth-the fog seemed to breathe and move about by itself. Haru's cage was loaded into the back of a horse drawn cart and he was taken away, Rin following by foot to the hall where he would be sold. Just before he went inside, Rin thought he saw the figure of a man with blond hair standing on top of the adjacent building... he blinked, and the figure was gone. Uncomfortably, Rin went in.

Mikoshiba wanted to present Haru to the curator of the auction hall in private, so Rin went for a walk around the building. He was examining some antiques when every gaslight in the room flickered out... five seconds later, they came back on and there was a person directly in front of Rin. He swore.

'_Fucking hell_...' Rin's heart needed a moment. 'Where did you come from?'

The person in front of Rin was a man, short, with blond hair and pink eyes.

'Were-you-_scared_?' he sing-songed.

'Not really,' Rin murmured, realising he spoke Japanese, and from the way he'd reappeared then disappeared that he should have known better than to be surprised. 'Are you one of Haru's friends?'

'You got me.' the man laughed. 'I guess I should introduce myself... I'm Nagisa! And_ yooou_ are Rin Matsuoka... but I'll call you Rin-chan, okay? I've heard all about_ you._'

One side of Nagisa's face was covered in faint burns and he'd been standing on the roof of a building earlier which made Rin convinced that-like Haru-Nagisa wasn't human... still, Nagisa seemed to talk more sense than Haru... by a slight margin. Rin tried questioning him.

'Are you a demon?'

The air around Rin grew hot and then started to combust. Small flames reflected in Nagisa's irises, strands of his blond hair lifting in an immediate wind.

'_Don't _associate me with those,' he growled.

'I didn't mean to offend you,' Rin answered quickly. Nagisa grinned, the flames around him extinguishing.

'Don't worry about it... it's fine! We all say stuff without thinking, right?'

Nagisa's mood was on hair-trigger mode and he could apparently conjure flames from nowhere, so Rin made a mental note not to say anything else that might offend him. Haru had said there were three others 'like him,' and from what Rin knew, Haru could control water, the blue haired man had wings and Nagisa could conjure fire from nowhere... Rin didn't even want to meet the last one of Haru's 'friends-' they were too much for him.

'Hey, Rin-chan... do you want to come for a walk?'

Rin didn't like leaving Haru and neither did he trust Nagisa, but he wanted answers and he was intrigued, so he nodded. They walked along the cobblestones in the lessening light for a few moments when Nagisa spoke:

'Rin-chan... do you love Haru?'

Rin's heart strained for a moment. There was a quiet that followed, but Rin brought method to his thoughts during it. 'Probably,' he confessed, voice unintentionally soft. Nagisa's eyes shimmered at the confession.

'I see... then there's something you should know! Come with me, okay?'

Rin followed Nagisa to what he supposed was a museum as it was a large, grand building, filled with flickering candlelight and dusty artefacts. Nagisa dragged him by the hand to a four-part mosaic which Rin stopped before, and as he laid his eyes on the painted fragments of glass, cold nails seemed to pinch the breath from his throat. Each individual mosaic depicted a male, composed of stained glass. The first mosaic was a brown-haired man surrounded by trees, the second was the blue haired man with wings in the sky, the third was Nagisa engulfed in flames and the last one was... sitting on a rock in the sea with blue eyes and dark hair-

_'_Haru...'

Suddenly, Rin felt very light-headed.

'There's a story!' Nagisa contributed. 'Do you want to know? It starts like this:

In the beginning, there was a God who created 'Earth.' On its own, lives were weaved, and little souls were created from the flow of God's energy in his yearning for others to appreciate his planet. The souls stay on Earth until the physical body carrying them ceases to function, where the energy is regenerated afterwards unless the souls were stained in sin, in which case they fall into Hell for demons to consume. Long story short, humans wern't the God's problem- His duty was solely to maintain the Earth, which was done by taking care of the four elements!'

Nagisa had just started talking but Rin already had a thousand questions in his head-if what Nagisa was saying was true, then was this really something that Rin was meant to know..? He swallowed his doubts.

'The four elements,' Nagisa continued. 'Are: Earth, Water, Fire and Air-basically, if you can keep all of those under control then planet Earth will stay pretty healthy! EXCEPT,' Nagisa sighed. 'That's kinda hard for one consciousness to manage, you know? I mean, sure, God's pretty amazing, but he can't take care of_ everything_ at once. So-'

'He split himself into four,' Rin said, seeing where this was heading but not believing it for one second. It was obscure, surreal... like something out of a pop-up children's picture book, or some outdated and exalted cult belief.

Nagisa clicked his fingers and a small flame appeared on the end, which made Rin's head swim.

'Not exactly,' Nagisa's voice was soft. '...if I may continue. The God got bored, Rin. You know, he didn't have a concept of time... time is something created by humans, and as a result, they're the only ones who worry about it running out. He just existed forever, as an anonymous entity... could you imagine the endless loneliness? The boredom, the sadness... so, instead of creating, he destroyed, and he destroyed himself.

Except God _can't_ die. Things in this universe can't be created or destroyed, only broken apart and moved around, so God's soul broke apart into fragments which were dispersed through the cosmos. Time passed, and the world started to fall into ruin without a concious entity governing the elements, so the humans decided to summon back the fragments of God into human vessels that they could control. The humans back then thought that if they could harness the fragments of God containing his power into several physical bodies representing each element, then they could control the elements themselves, and be the masters of their own nature. There was a human soul in my body before I was sacrificed,' Nagisa set a hand over his heart, gently. 'But... the element of fire engulfed it, so it changed; I'm not human anymore. To be honest, I don't ever remember what it was like...'

There was silence, nothingness, and Nagisa continued:

'Rin-chan, I exist solely to control the fires on Earth-that's my reason for living. Just like Mako-chan controls the earth and Rei-chan controls the sky, Haru-chan lives forever, for the water. He wanted me to tell you all of this.'

'Then he's not a demon?' Rin felt a part of himself get lighter, but it was the kind of lighter as if he'd just lost two of his five pints of blood.

'Where did you get_ that_ idea?' Nagisa laughed. 'No... he isn't a demon-in fact, he protects the ocean from them! He hears everything in the water, he can feel through the water and the water obeys his every command... just like with me and fire!'

'But there are demons out there, aren't there?' Rin mumbled, 'H-Haru said... he said there was a curse placed on my family when several female sex slaves made a deal with a demon to avenge the driver of their ship-they cursed all of the males in each generation of his family. Haru said that because of that curse, I'll go to Hell after I die-'

'I don't know anything about that,' Nagisa said, in a gentle tone. 'Occasionally, very strong demons crawl out of Hell to make deals with people and cause natural disasters... that's why me, Haru-chan and the others are needed! Although our job is just to protect the elements-I don't know why Haru-chan is so interested in_ you_!'

Jee, thanks, Rin wanted to mutter, but the truth was that he didn't know, either. Even if Haru had formed feelings for Rin at some point, then Rin knew that they were to be short-lived; Rin was human-he'd get seventy more years out of his life at best, but Haru would live forever. Haru had to exist because he was a vessel for God, not a male siren.

But still... Rin thought back to his conversation with Haru on the ship mere nights ago:

_'The other three?_' Rin had asked. _'You mean that man with wings and the other two... people... you mentioned-you can't tell them how you feel?'_

_'Don't feel things like I do,'_ Haru had answered.

_'Then why are you different?'_

_'Mistake.'_

Was Haru really different to the others... and if so, in what way? What was the 'mistake,' that he couldn't share with Nagisa and his other two friends, but could mention in passing to Rin?

The sky had faded to a dusky red as Nagisa walked Rin back to the auction hall again and Rin was silent, oblivious to Nagisa's chattering along the way... the confusion in his head had subside, but only slightly. He'd always known that there was a chance 'Haru' hadn't been what he'd seemed... but Rin didn't even know who the real 'Haru' was. Was Haru the name given to the human soul that had been born into that body originally and sacrificed to God, was Haru the name of the piece of God's soul forced inside of him and caused his body to change, or was Haru someone-_something_-else...? Nagisa had said Haru was a God, but he behaved like a demon and told Rin he was human... Rin believed that Haru was a God-he just didn't know if Haru was alone in his own body.

There was water running down the pavements, Rin noticed as he drew closer to the hall. Every window in the building had been shattered by the pressure of the water that now flooded through it, slipping out through every crack in the brick and gushing out into the street in torrents.

'No...' Rin whispered. 'Haru, what the fuck have you done?!'

The foyer of the hall was submerged to the ceiling... Rin swam down to the basement where Haru had been taken, horrified to find that there were _people_ in the water, but they were still thrashing to try and take in air, which meant there was still some time... he could still save them yet. He swum down to the basement and pulled his head up out of the water just before his vision had started to black, noticing Haru on top of a large storage crate with his tail curled around his body.

'HARU!' Rin yelled, trying to keep himself afloat. 'You can't create any more water... you need to make it stop! If you don't, you're going to kill all of the people here-'

'Good,' Haru replied.

'STOP... this isn't you!'

When the water didn't stop, Rin swum closer to the crate and pulled himself over the top.

'That's enough,' Rin said sternly, as he came closer to Haru. 'You need to stop. I'm here, just stop-'

Rin opened his arms and pulled Haru into them, holding him as tight as he could. As he held Haru, he noticed that Haru's ear lobe was bleeding where someone had pierced him with a tag... Rin undid the little bolt on the back and took the tag away, running his hands along Haru's cheek.

'Angry, Rin.'

'I know... but you can't take it out on other people. Haru, you can't drown everyone because you're upset-'

'Not an object,' Haru said, sternly. 'Don't belong in cage!'

'I know... it's okay.'

Gradually, the water level underneath the crate begun to subside, slipping away into the air... Haru really could control it, Rin thought, and he people who'd all been suspended in the water were washed onto the wooden floor and started gasping as they pulled themselves up. Rin picked Haru up in his arms and climbed down from the crate on a set of moveable steps, feet splashing in the thin layer of water that still remained as he left the hall.

'You've got a lot of explaining to do,' Rin sighed, as people ran about in chaos around them. 'Haru, you can't keep hiding things from me. I spoke with Nagisa and he told me that there's a part of God in your body. Is that true?'

'Complicated,' Haru muttered.

'Did something go wrong when they put the fragment of God in you? The 'mistake' you told me about?'

'...don't want to talk about it.'

'You're going to tell me the whole truth,' Rin advised. 'Or I'll take it to mean that you don't want me to know because you're a demon-it's up to you.'

Rin took a damp sheet from one of the antiques and wrapped it around Haru's tail so it could be mistaken for legs before carrying Haru out into the public street. Rin was thousands of miles from home and didn't know what to do... he walked to the port and sat on the edge with his feet in the water, Haru's tail curved on the stone beside him. Together, they looked up at the stars, and Rin wondered absently if he were looking in the right direction of home... not that he could see his way back through the darkness, even if he were closer to it, anyway.

'Rin,' Haru begun.

'Yeah, what? If you're going to ask for a kiss-'

'Love you,' Haru whispered. He set his head on Rin's shoulder and Rin pulled Haru close, squeezing his eyes shut.


	10. Fairy Tale

If there were any stars in the sky, then they weren't visible tonight. Rin gave a frustrated sigh from his position on the end of the dock, trying to figure out a way to get himself out of London.

'You're lucky because you can swim away,' Rin muttered to Haru. 'You can go wherever you want, but it's not the same for me-I'm stuck here.'

'Steal a ship,' Haru suggested. He slid into the water and Rin stared down at him, horrified.

'I can't do that!'

'You detach ship,' Haru said, completely serious. 'I distract everyone.'

'I'm not stealing a ship.'

'That one-'

'Haru, are you_ listening_?!'

'Then stay,' Haru shrugged and Rin pulled on his lower lip as he glanced at the ship that Haru had pointed out. It was small and modern with an anchor connecting it to the port by a chain... it was the smallest ship in the port, and yet Rin _knew_ that it was someone else's livelihood... could he just take that away?

He didn't have a choice.

A tidal wave rose up and smashed the watchmen's hut on the end of the dock to splinters, and three of the patrolling guards who'd been guarding the ships ran towards it, dogs barking in the distance. With them all distracted, Rin unclipped the anchor from the smaller ship and climbed aboard it, feeling the water push him along and float him through the darkness. With Haru's ability to control the ocean's waves, there was no need for the steering wheel... Rin sat himself down on a barrel by the edge of the ship and wrapped his arms around one of his legs. After a few moments, Haru rested his elbows over the side of the ship, tail moving back and forth underneath the water.

'The water is higher around this part of the ship,' Rin said, with a slight smile. 'It pushes you up, and you're leaning with your arms over the side... just like that night.'

Just like that night when they'd first met.

'Kiss me,' Rin said, drawing himself closer to Haru. 'The way you would have that time, if we didn't get interrupted. I want to see what you would have done.'

Rin's pressed his nose into Haru's cheek seeking Haru's response and Haru turned, allowing his lips to meet Rin's and opening them, softly. The seam of his lips parted and they closed around Rin's own, keenly but gently suckling on Rin's mouth and for several long, lasting moments, they tasted each other, felt each other's warmth and forgot about the ocean all around them. Rin set a hand on Haru's bicep, feeling the scales underneath his fingers, surprised by how chaste the kiss had been. It had felt sad, somehow... Rin didn't understand it.

'What?' he whispered, after Haru pulled away. Haru shook his head.

'Wish... didn't meet you.'

Then he went underneath the water.

* * *

Days passed on the ship and several times Rin lifted Haru on board to touch and talk to him-he never asked what Haru had meant when he'd said that he wished he and Rin had never met. Rin woke up one morning to the sound of gulls, stretching his arms over his head and walking from the quarters onto the deck, blinking at what he saw. The ship was back in the Iwatobi dock... Haru had taken him home.

'Why?' Rin asked, leaning over the side of the ship and for a moment he panicked, thinking that Haru had swum away and left him here. His heart calmed when Haru swum around.

'Say goodbye,' Haru said. 'To family.'

After climbing onto the dock, Rin wrapped Haru's tail in a sheet and picked him up, nodding to a bunch of men he knew. He hadn't been home in maybe a month, but so much had happened since then... so much-meeting Haru had just been the start of it, and it felt strange to come full circle now. His heart soared as he looked up at the blue sky, knowing that this fishing town wasn't much, but it would always be his home.

His Mother and sister were here.

It was tentatively that Rin knocked on his front door, checking that Haru's fins weren't poking out from the bottom of the sheet as he waited for an answer. Gou opened the door and her eyes widened.

'Onii-chan?' She gasped.

'Hey,' Rin smiled. 'D'you miss me?'

Gou started to sob and threw her arms around Rin, not seeming to care that there was a complete stranger-Haru-trapped in the middle of their hug. Rin put his head on Gou's shoulder-because he needed both of his hands to carry Haru-breathing a sigh and rubbing his nose against the top of her hair.

'_Onii-chan_,' Gou huffed, tossing her red hair over her shoulders. 'We were so worried! After we heard a distress telegram came from Mikoshiba's ship, then it stopped transmitting signals... t-they said there was a crash, and n-not everyone may have survived. Then we heard the salvage ship with the survivors got diverted to England... it was your _first trip_-'

'I know, I know,' Rin sighed. 'Gou... what have I told you about worrying about me? You've got enough to concern yourself with. How's your seamstress job going?'

'It isn't,' Gou hummed. 'As of next month, you'll have to call me by -sama!'

'Oh, really?' Rin asked.

'That's right-would you believe it? After Yamazaki's father died, he got the inheritance and now he's an earl... he proposed to me just after you left!'

'Oh, really?' Rin mumbled, quieter this time, and Haru said, 'Rin,' because Rin's fingers had reflexively tightened and he was squeezing Haru's tail.

Rin went inside, climbing up the stairs and listening to Gou chatter as she skipped after him... he felt glad for his sister's happiness, but he couldn't share it. Rin knew _he _was meant to be the one paying for his sisters education,_ he_ was meant to be the one supporting Gou and taking care of her, but she'd managed by herself... she'd got engaged to Rin's-apparently _loaded_-best friend, and whilst Rin had known Sousuke since childhood and was sure he'd treat Gou with the respect and dignity she deserved, he didn't appreciate the fact that he'd dated her in secret.

'So, Sousuke proposed to you just after I left, huh...?' Rin grumbled. 'That's very suspicious timing.'

'Oh, um... I suppose! Anyway, who did you bring home with you?'

Rin set Haru down on his old bed and Gou peered at Haru, who drew his shoulders up defensively.

'His eyes are so blue...' Gou gasped. 'It's like they go on forever!'

'That's Haru,' Rin explained, as Haru was withholding his silence. 'His legs are, uh...'

'Is he hurt? That's awful! Mother taught me how to tend wounds-'

'N... Gou, don't lift up the sheet-!'

The sheet covering Haru's lower half came away and his tail was exposed, his aqua scales glistening in the sunlight that streamed in through Rin's old bedroom window. Gou cupped her hands over her mouth.

'Oh, onii-chan,' she gasped. 'He's _beautiful_.'

Rin explained to Gou that Haru was from the ocean-trusting her-and that sailors sought to hunt and sell him, which was why he'd brought Haru back to the house... Haru would be safer here as opposed to swimming around in the port. He left Gou to fawn over Haru as he filled several buckets of cold water from the tap in their miniature garden, carrying them up stairs and dropping them into the wooden washbasin for Haru to sit in, dragging it into his bedroom. It wasn't big enough for him, as his tail hung over the side, but it was the best Rin had. Gou stayed with them for another half an hour, talking happily to Rin before going downstairs to do some linen.

Rin was left alone with Haru.

'You could have told me you were a God,' Rin muttered, mentioning what Nagisa had told him in London, as now Haru couldn't swim away or hide in the ocean to avoid this.'You could have... you know. Let it slip before we had sex. It seems like a pretty important thing to mention.'

'Would change things.'

'It would _clarify _things!' Rin snapped. 'Haru, do you know how long I spent thinking you were a demon? I thought you were the one who cursed the Matsuoka males and came to me out of guilt and pity-that's what all of the facts said! I just... tell me if I have this right: you're a God because part of his soul... went into you?'

Haru nodded.

'You used to be a person then you were sacrificed, weren't you? Your body became a vessel for part of God's spirit so that you could control the water element independently? Then your body evolved and changed... but there's something I need to know. When God went inside of you, what happened to the Haru who was born in that body? The human.'

'Not sure.'

'Not sure?'

'Don't remember... human,' Haru replied, looking down. 'Darkness. Mouth, eyes... stitched shut. Had to prevent sin to be worthy of God. Never had human life. Never felt. But...'

'What?'

'Feel, now,' Haru replied. 'Through water. Water whispers to me... and feel-' he looked up. 'Because of Rin. That's why-'

'You'd rather we'd never met,' Rin muttered. 'Because I won't live forever like you.'

A bird had settled on the window ledge and begun singing an ode of love. Haru watched it from his washbasin, streaks of sunlight illuminating his bare back.

'Oh, yeah...' Rin begun. 'My room is covered in all of these model ships I made from cardboard and junk... I used to idolize my dad. I told you about that, right? I thought he was incredible and that working on a ship was the best job in the world... that's kinda changed now.' A pause. 'Haru, if I never get on a ship again after all of this is over, it will be too soon and if anyone asks, I'll laugh in their face. This entire ordeal has been one nightmare after the next-'

'Worth it?'

'Yeah.' Rin managed a smile. 'You are worth it, Haru.'

When Rin had stolen that ship, he'd left Mikoshiba and the rest of his crew in London... Rin didn't know what would happen to them, but he was sure they'd make it back to Iwatobi. By that time, Rin and Haru would be long gone.

'But no more adventures after this,' Rin laughed, holding up his hands. 'I'm done, okay? How I'm not dead of heart failure by now is _beyond _me... oh. Found something you recognise?'

There was a book facing up on Rin's floor, with a picture of a woman with a fishes tail on the cover. Haru glared at it.

'Siren,' he announced. Rin retrieved the book.

'She's a mermaid,' he corrected. 'Haru, do you like this one? It's a fairy story.'

The spine of the book was worn, the black and white ink of the illustrations fading and the cover battered, but it all seemed in one piece.

'Mermaids look like sirens,' Rin explained. 'But they're gentle-they don't have claws or sharp teeth. Haru, you said you know everything about the ocean... are there any mermaids?'

'Make-believe,' Haru replied.

_Right..._ Rin rolled his eyes. _Because 'mermaids' aren't a real thing, but 'sirens' totally are._

'Do you want me to read it to you?' Rin asked. 'I... I didn't go to school, but I've heard this story tons of times. So, if you wanted I could.'

Haru put his head against Rin's chest in response, blue eyes watching Rin as he spoke and Rin told Haru the first part of the story, about how the innocent mermaid fell in love with the human and made a deal with a dark witch to be with him. He lifted up Haru's fingers and placed them over the illustrations as he read, letting Haru turn the pages as he scanned the pictures. He was taking this _way_ too seriously, Rin thought.

'...then the sea witch said that she would give the mermaid legs for a single night, if she paid with her voice.'

'Together in end?' Haru asked.

'No,' Rin shook his head. 'The prince marries another girl, and the witch tells the mermaid that she'll take her soul unless she stabs the prince. But she loves the prince too much to stab him... so, she threw herself overboard and lived forever as a spirit in the air.'

'...Didn't be with prince.'

'Well, the prince was an asshole. He didn't know what he was missing,' Rin said, closing the book. 'I never liked that story, anyway.'

It seemed to disturb Haru. He was quiet for several seconds, staring ahead when:

'Rin... what would you wish?'

'That's easy... I'd want to be like you,' Rin grinned. 'Haru, you're so free... you live forever, swimming around in the ocean. You're not bound to anything, so you don't have to worry about-'

_Liking other men when you're expected to marry a woman._

_Not making enough money and seeing your mother and sister go hungry-_

Rin didn't voice any of those thoughts out loud. They were quiet for a few moments when the door burst open.

'Onee-chan!' Gou chirped. 'Mother's home!'

'Rin, you've gotten so thin! They didn't feed you enough on that ship!' was the first thing his mother said, after they broke out of their hug and Rin did a lot of catching her hands and laughing, saying that he was _fine_ because he was... but he wasn't so sure about his soul. If everything Haru had said about his Father was true, then his mother _must_ have known...

'Listen,' Rin said, after a while. 'I... I want to talk about Dad. Is it true that his ship... was part of a sex slave trade?'

'Rin...' his mother's eyes went wide. 'Who told you that-'

'It doesn't matter!' Rin snapped, then realised his tone. 'I-I'm really sorry. It's just... I have to know-'

'Yes... it's true.'

All of the blood seemed to leave Rin's head and he dropped into a chair.

'He just wanted to earn some money, Rin,' his mother tried to explain, sitting down opposite him. 'All he wanted was to be able to raise you and your sister right... he worked on a rice ship, but the trade was dying-it wasn't making enough! If he didn't go for that position, then we all would have starved to death-'

'I _know_. B-but I just...' Rin ran his fingers through his hair-his mother had no idea what his Father had gotten him in. The women on the sex ship he'd been captaining had made a deal with a sea demon to curse all the males in his family... maybe his Dad had just wanted to take care of him, but he'd also inavertedly condemned Rin to Hell forever... and died before he could ever know anything about it.

'Rin,' his mother squeezed his hand. 'Please don't resent him for what he did. Your Father did what he had to, to take care of us... he loved you and Gou so much... so much...'

Even the sirens were victims, Rin thought bitterly as he climbed the stairs-just innocent, kidnapped women who'd wanted revenge and were now trapped in the sea, taking souls and doing the demon's bidding... Haru had said that the curse would end when either 100 Matsuoka males souls went to Hell, or when the Matsuoka bloodline became extinct of males at any point. Right now, Rin knew he was the last remaining male in his family, which was why the sirens had behaved abnormally in their attempts to kill him-they'd overheard Rin's last name when Mikoshiba's ship had driven around their territory, and knew that if Rin died, their spirits may have a chance at being set free. The demon was the one who had caused this.

And Rin knew that the only way to end his family's curse was to find the demon and make him reverse it, or Rin had to die and fall into Hell himself.

'You were right,' Rin told Haru, bringing him some raw fish for supper. 'What you said about my Dad was true.'

'Know everything that happens in water,' Haru replied. 'Rin. Leave in morning?'

'Yeah.'

'Come with me?'

'You ask a lot...' Rin muttered. 'I still don't know everything about you or what it is you want. You're a God and you watch the sea... but there's more to the story, isn't there? Haru-'

'Tomorrow,' Haru interrupted. 'Go see... Makoto. Then Rin will know everything.'

'Mako... to?'

'Earth.'

'Right,' Rin recalled what Nagisa had explained. 'He's like you-he was a human who was sacrificed and used as a vessel to absorb a fragment of God's soul. You control the water, Nagisa controls fire, Makoto controls the earth and... the lanky guy with wings-'

'Rei.'

'...I guess he controls the air. But I don't understand: why do we need to go and see Makoto-'

'Need all four parts of God's soul to bless Rin's. Have Nagisa and Rei's. Need Makoto's. Then... can sacrifice Rin.'

'The more sense you make, the less sense you make... and I don't want to be sacrificed-we've been through this. Haru,' Rin grabbed Haru's shoulder and forced Haru to meet his gaze. 'Don't do anything awful. My Dad made an awful decision thinking he was helping our family, and it had_ terrible_ consequences... for him and me. Don't make a mistake like that.'

Haru jerked his chin away.

* * *

Night fell and Rin said goodnight to his mother and sister, climbing into bed and thinking that this was the last night he'd spend in the house he was born in.

'Rin,' Haru commanded. 'Bed.'

'Won't you be uncomfortable?'

'Bed.'

Rin sighed, picking up Haru and drying him so he wouldn't soak the sheets before laying him down on the single bed. It creaked as Rin got in-not meant to hold the weight of two males-and Rin dipped a cloth in the washbasin, soaking it in cold water and running it along Haru's forehead.

'You like that?' Rin grinned as Haru's eyes closed in pleasure and he gave a small, content gasp.

_He's addicted to water..._

He wet the cloth again, rubbing it around Haru's abs and getting his skin damp to encourage him to relax. He kissed Haru, because he couldn't help it as Haru was so cute when he was happy. Haru's hand rose up to Rin's collar, just staying there.

'What? Do you want to kiss more?'

Haru nodded.

'Okay,' Rin swallowed. 'I guess we can... do a little... but my family are downstairs. Be quiet.'

Rin nipped Haru's ears teasingly, biting down on his neck to leave deep, red marks in the wet skin, wrapping his thighs around Haru's waist before curling his legs around Haru's tail and rolling them both over. He felt Haru's hands drag through his hair, the soft, sweetness of his mouth and the slick friction as his hips bucked against Haru's scales, thrusting against the texture. He slipped a hand underneath the blanket and snaked it down between their bodies, rubbing the scales until he felt them part and a small hole opened up, allowing him entry. Rin slipped two of his fingers inside and Haru put his head back against the pillow, breathing softly.

'Rin,' he pleaded. The rest of the night was lost.

* * *

'If you come with me,' Haru said, the next day after Rin said goodbye to his mother and sister at breakfast. 'Leave family behind. Won't see them again.'

'I know,' Rin replied. His chest ached, but he knew his family could manage without him-he'd already made his decision.

He'd just got to the dock and was untying the anchor from the ship when Gou rushed up to him and hugged him from behind. Rin felt his eyes burn, but he held it in. He had to stay strong.

'You're not coming back this time, are you? That goodbye... it meant you'll never see us again-'

'It's alright,' Rin whispered, because he couldn't lie to Gou. 'I have to. There are things I need to do-'

'That _siren_.' Gou turned to Haru with disgust, who was floating in the port water. 'He's the reason for all of this, isn't he? This all happened because you're in love with him-'

'Why would you say something like tha-'

'Your teeth marks are all over his neck,' Gou replied, and Rin shut his mouth because he couldn't defend himself against that. 'Rin, do you know what he could do?! H-he could betray you and eat your soul-'

'He's had plenty of opportunities to do that,' Rin reassured her, softly. 'Haru isn't a siren, so don't worry... I'll be okay. So will you-'

Gou pulled away and shook her head, turning toward the water.

'My brother deserves the best,' she snapped at Haru. 'S-so... don't you _ever_ do _anything_ to hurt him-'

Then she turned and ran out of the dock. For a few seconds, Rin considered going after her but he knew that it would only make things harder so he climbed onto the ship, hastily wiping his eyes as a cold pierced his skin, and the sails of the ship pushed it out to sea for one last, final time.

* * *

*****= Hans Christian Andersen's Grimms fairy tales: 'the Little Mermaid.'


	11. Tethered Fates

The sun swallowed up the stars, its golden glow falling across the sea. The dawn light felt as if it were kissing Rin's skin- warming him all over as it rose-and his heart was encompassed by the feeling. He could feel his journey coming to an end. His body was weary with phantom pain, as if it somehow_ knew_ too, that this trip would be one of his last.

He turned away from the sea, going back into the cabin.

The needlepoint on the ships compass kept changing, because Haru was using the sea to steer Rin's ship, or rather, the ship Rin had stolen. They'd been sailing for close to a week and when they finally pulled up, it was beside a forest. Rin dropped the anchor and swum to the shore, carrying Haru where water turned to sand, then where sand turned to mud.

'Anxious?' Rin asked. Haru rested his head in the crook of Rin's neck, and Rin kissed him before proceeding.

He walked for perhaps five hours, following Haru's directions. Thick trees surrounded Rin and branches snapped underneath his feet as he walked until eventually they reached a giant sequoia tree, which seemed to have hollowed to create an entranceway with vines lacing it shut. As Rin approached them, they uncurled and he hesitated before carrying Haru forward.

The hollow of the tree lead Rin through an underground tunnel and when he emerged he found himself underneath a bank, where leaves created a canopy above him and sunlight streamed in through the gaps. A small, bubbling stream ran through the earth, splitting it, and it's water looked so pure that Rin thought he could drink from it. There was a tree in front of Rin, and it took him a moment to process the fact that there was a person in the wood.

Plant tendrils were wrapped around his arms and the lower half of his skin was made of wood, his legs seeming rooted to the floor. His warm, green eyes were coloured like a meadow, and they closed as he smiled.

'Haru,' his voice was soft. 'It's been a while. You don't come to visit me very often.'

'No legs,' Haru said. The person nodded.

'Ah, yes... I see how that would be a limitation. Go in the pool, if you want. It's salt-water as the bottom of it connects to the sea, so I'd image you should feel comfortable. I suppose there's a reason for your visit other than a desire to see me?'

There was a small pool of water filled with marine plants floating on the surface slightly to Rin's left; he dropped Haru into it.

'Um-' Rin begun.

'You should kneel.' The voice was pleasant, but contained enough: '_know your place'_ to freak Rin out enough into doing it. The person turned to Haru. 'Haru, didn't you teach him any respect?'

Haru shrugged and swished his tail in the water.

'Who are you?' Rin blurted out. 'I-I mean... Haru said your name was Makoto and he explained to me... that you embody the earth and control it... but.' _He's covered in plants, he's covered in plants. Don't stare_. 'Are you-'

'Fine? Yes: they'll come away if I wish. But I... I like being a part of them. I feel their energy better that way.' Makoto said, holding out his arm and admiring the little flowers on it with fondness. He was weird, Rin thought, but he'd spent long enough with Haru to get used to this kind of strangeness. Or at least, more accustomed to it than the average person would be. Haru had said something before about being able to 'feel' the ocean and being able to 'hear' the water whisper to him so Rin imagined that-like Haru-Makoto could also feel the Earth in his nerves, which was why he was so respectful of it. Like Haru, Makoto's body also seemed to also have changed enough for him to be connected to his element in a level that went deeper than the spirit, in the same way that Rei had wings and Nagisa's body seemed to be fireproof.

'You're lacking in the water, Haru,' Makoto said. 'Stories have reached me. Stories about... sirens... running rampant-why have you allowed it for this long?'

'Complicated,' Haru muttered.

'Complicated, how, exactly?'

'Curse. Demons.'

'That's right... the sirens must have been created by a demon to gather souls and do its bidding... the result of a deal those women made, no doubt... and now they're trapped as tormented souls until the either the deal is fulfilled, or until the demon who cast that curse has been slew. What will fulfil the deal, exactly? Considering it's a demon, I'd imagine they'd like a sacrifice?'

'Matsuoka males.' Haru said. '100 souls... have to go to Hell. Or bloodline has to lose all males at one point. One male left now. But...'

Haru's eyes flickered up and he gave Rin a firm look.

'...won't let that happen.'

'Then find and kill the demon?'

'If demon dies,' Haru explained. 'Future Matsuoka males not affected. Curse ends. Sirens souls saved. But... not Rin's.'

There was a sinking feeling inside of Rin, as he realised that he was beyond saving; his soul was already leased to Hell. From the moment that curse had been cast, it had immediately marked every living Matsuoka male- which at the time, and still was, him-and that mark would still remain even after the demon died, because Rin's soul was Hell's property, now. The curse could end with Rin's death or the demon's, and it would stop future currently unborn Matsuoka males (which would consist of Gou's children, should she bear any) from suffering its effects. But it wouldn't reverse the ones on Rin.

'Haru,' Makoto's voice was gentle. 'This persons soul is insignificant. It means less than a grain of sand in the large picture... why-'

'Lonely.'

'Lonely?'

'Without Rin.'

'You...' Makoto tried again. 'Haru, you maintain the water. Your job is complicated enough without involving a human, let alone exposing yourself to one. Do you understand the risk you've created?'

'Alone.' Haru sounded pained. 'In sea. For long time.'

'You're not _alone_-you have Nagisa, Rei and I all supporting you from a distance. And you're surrounded by water... you love the water. Isn't it precious to you?'

'Rin... precious.'

'He's been cursed by a demon.'

'Save his soul.'

'...Why are you so interested in a human whose circumstances are so difficult?!' Makoto sounded distressed. 'H-Haru, there are billions of people in this world, billions who have died and billions yet to be born... I don't understand; why is this one specifically so important to you?'

'Love Rin...' Haru said, then looked to the side.

'You _love_ him?' Makoto echoed.

'Yes.'

'Is that what you think?'

'Yes...'

There were a few moments of awkward lower lip pulling for Rin and he stared down hard at the ground, because he didn't know where he belonged in this conversation. Makoto's voice was firm when he spoke again:

'Haru, you're chasing something that's out of your horizon-if Matsuoka males really are cursed to Hell, then this one is gone. You can't undo the curse.'

'No,' Haru agreed. 'Found way to... get around it.'

'How?!' Makoto was panicking, his voice rising to hysteria. 'What are you planning to do?! Haru, what are you going to try?!'

'Need blessing,' Haru replied, rather than choosing to answer Makoto's questions.

'What does a blessing do?' Rin asked.

'With mine, Nagisa, Rei and Haru's blessing combined, your soul will be blessed by all four parts of God's,' Makoto explained to Rin, gently. 'With all four of us blessing you, it would be the equivalent of giving your soul divine grace.'

'Okay,' Rin replied, because that didn't exactly answer his question. Makoto continued:

'Grace is needed in order to stand against a demon on Earth-of course it's ineffective if you do go to Hell, because not even God's virtue itself holds weight in that place. Grace gives an ordinary, weak mortal soul the strength to resist a demon if it enters their body. God's have their own form of divine grace, which is what protects Haru, Rei, Nagisa and I from having demons infiltrate our bodies. Unless,' Makoto glanced at Haru. 'The demons are accepted or invited into the parties' body willingly.'

Haru gave Makoto an undeterred stare in response.

'If you want my blessing for Rin's soul, then you have it,' Makoto replied, with a smile. 'Now you have Nagisa's, Rei's and mine... he just needs yours, Haru. I've touched his soul. Can you feel it?'

Rin turned to Haru, and Haru nodded-disbelief flooded Rin because that had been so _easy_; Rin had been sure that Makoto would be unwilling to yield until Haru at least answered his questions. Haru also seemed sceptical, giving Makoto a long look as Rin lifted him out of the pool, into his arms again.

He turned to leave, when Makoto spoke:

'One last thing,' he said, quietly. 'Haru... where is the demon that cast the curse on the Matsuoka males now? You must have sensed its presence in the water and confronted it... but the fact that the sirens are still in the water proves that it isn't dead. ...so, what did you do with it?'

The root beneath Rin's feet begun to retract and he cried out, dropping Haru on the earth. Two pentagrams appeared in the mud- one below Rin, and the other beneath Haru.

'What is this?!' Rin demanded. 'What the hell-'

'These emblems are demon traps,' Makoto explained, in a firm voice. 'The pattern inside of the circle locks any demon inside of it and renders them unable to move. Rin... you have no reason to fear. Yours hasn't responded to you.'

'Of course it hasn't!' Rin snapped. 'H-Haru...'

The outline of the pentagram beneath Haru had begun to burn and the circle created a wall of glowing, green fire that locked Haru inside. Vines had shot out from the earth, lacing his tail to the soil, ensnaring him until they covered all of his scales and hands, curling around his wrists until they cut the skin and spots of blood dripped on the soil.

'Get him _out_!' Rin screamed. 'Haru isn't a demon!'

'I know,' Makoto replied, with regret. 'But he's carrying one inside of him. Rin... when that demon made the deal to transform all of those maiden's souls into sirens, Haru would have sensed its presence in the water and confronted it, although... it doesn't appear that he killed it. When two souls enter one body, the strongest one always gains dominance, so I'd imagine Haru weakened the demon then let it stay inside of his own body and has been keeping it alive inside of him since then. Haru... is that right?'

'Why?' Rin whispered. 'Haru... why are you protecting it? I-I don't understand... what could you gain from having that _thing_ inside of you-'

'Haru,' Makoto's voice was soft. 'Let the demon out of your body. Or I'll perform an exorcism.'

The vines curled around Haru's neck and he choked, but shook his head.

'Haru, let it out!' Rin pleaded. 'You'll get hurt if Makoto tries to force it out, and I can't... just let the demon go. Please, Haru-'

'Need it,' Haru replied, stubbornly. 'For Rin.'

'W-why?' Rin stammered, and the circle erupted into green flames.

'You're _torturing him_!' Rin screamed, turning on Makoto. 'What's wrong with you?!'

'I'm protecting Haru... from whatever he's about to do! When this demon dies, the curse on the sirens will end- isn't that what you want?!' Makoto's green eyes were insistent.

'If Haru put that demon in his own body, then he did it for a reason!' Rin snapped, trembling. 'If you take it out, you'll disrupt what Haru was trying to do, so don't finish the exorcism!'

'Whatever reason he has for hiding a demon doesn't relate to the water,' Makoto replied, voice hard. 'Haru's losing sight of his duty. I rely on the water to hydrate my plants, so I can't lose him... Rin... it isn't your place to interfere!'

Frustration coursed through Rin and he glanced down, feeling aggravatedly helpless. Through his red hair-from the corner of his eye-he saw the pool of water that Makoto had said connected to the sea. He looked up and his gaze met Makoto's.

'I-I want...' Rin's voice was intentionally thick. 'Haru's hurt. He's bleeding... and it's my fault. Haru said that he put that demon in his body for me, so just let me hold him; I want a chance to explain! If I'm the one to talk to Haru, he'll let the demon out on his own and you won't have to hurt him in an exorcism. Just, please... let me try-'

'You can talk to him,' Makoto sighed. '...Although I doubt it will help. I'll give you several moments.'

The circle of green flames around Haru came down and now that Rin could reach Haru, he picked him up in his arms, ghosting his fingertips over Haru's cuts.

'It'll be okay, Haru,' he whispered.

Then before a swarm of vines could rise up to wrap around Rin and before Makoto could cry out, he dropped Haru into the pool of saltwater and watched him disappear beneath it's surface, darting away and vanishing.

* * *

**one more!**


	12. Fractured sky

For a few moments, Rin stared at the surface of the water to check that Haru was gone. Then he turned to Makoto.

'Do you understand what you've done?'

'I had to let Haru go!' Rin snapped. 'I couldn't just sit there and watch you torture him trying to perform an exorcism, when... whatever Haru needs that demon for, it probably has something to do with me! Haru said he'd found a way to get rid of the curse-'

'He said he'd found a way to get _around it_.' Makoto replied. 'You were there when I told Haru it can't be removed... weren't you listening? Honestly...'

'Will you kill me for letting Haru go?' Rin asked. 'O-or... will you remove your grace from my soul-'

'Actually, I'm not interest in either of those things,' Makoto replied. 'If Haru does neglect the ocean and the eco-system suffers for it, humans will be the ones charged with the effects; that will be your punishment. You may go.'

Uncomfortably, Rin turned away when Makoto called him back:

'Rin...'

He watched Makoto hold out an arm, examining the branches that had gnarled and twisted around it- admiring the white flowers imbedded within them.

'I-I don't... understand the beauty of flowers. I thought that when Haru became like this, he'd be the same, but... maybe not. Do you understand what I'm saying?'

'N-no,' Rin admitted.

'Of course not. Just remember that Haru isn't your mermaid princess from the fairy-tale.'

'H-how do you know about that?!'

'I'd like you to leave,' Makoto answered softly, closing his eyes and adapting a peaceful expression. Rin pulled on his lip in annoyance, letting it out with a suck sound before finally leaving.

Returning to the ship took Rin three times longer than his first journey, because he didn't have Haru to tell him where he was going-he was aggravated as he stumbled through the forest, muttering to himself as he pushed back his hair. He'd known from the night when he'd first looked upon Haru that he wasn't innocent, and their journey together had only further proved that; Haru had bitten a sailor's neck and severed the main artery because the man had tried to touch him, then attempted to drown an entire building because some of the inhabitants had almost tagged his ear. Rin knew that Haru wasn't some pure, naïve, little mermaid-Haru was thoughtful. Silent. But Rin wasn't stupid enough to mistake his silence for unintelligence.

Still... why had Makoto's words made Rin's blood feel as if it ran cold?

He was exhausted when he found the beach again, expecting Haru to be waiting in the water around the ship-he wasn't. Rin slept on the deck that night and waited but Haru still didn't come, so when he awoke in the morning he set sail alone. He had an idea where Haru might be, although it was nothing more than a suspicion.

Rin remained alone on the ship for almost a week, although his journey seemed to last forever. Every time the sun and moon finished chasing each other, they brought with them something different; one night, a storm came beating down on Rin's face and he grimaced throughout the cold, cramps settling into his body limb by limb at a time. Other nights were calm but unbearable, because Haru had said that he could feel and hear through each drop of water in the ocean which meant that he knew where Rin was, but wanted Rin to come to him. On the final night of his journey, the sighs of the wind pushed Rin's ship along as the tearful, pearl grey sky above him trembled with its last drops of rain. The ocean hadn't seemed so very big before, Rin thought, when he'd been traveling with Haru, but right now it was bigger than a galaxy, it was a universe, and even though Rin knew exactly where he was going he felt lost, drifting amongst it. He looked up from watching the moon rippling on the waves and realised he'd reached his destination.

He was back at the caves where he'd first kissed Haru.

Rin knew that Haru had been the one who'd broken the wires on Mikoshiba's boat all those weeks ago, forcing them to pull over because he'd known that the sirens had heard Rin's last name shouted out by Mikoshiba when their boat had driven past the siren's territory, and would want to kill him in hopes of setting themselves free. That was why, Rin supposed, Haru had lured him into that cave and tried to persuade Rin not to get back on the ship-which was why Haru had crashed it and taken Rin away before sirens could attack... not that Rin had understood it then.

'HARU?'

The water was quiet.

'Haru, answer me...' Rin moaned. 'I know you're here! Q-quit messing around.'

Nothing.

'Either you swim up to the rock or I'll drown myself! Are you listening?!'

Silence. Rin sighed.

'I hate you,' he muttered. 'Actually hate you.'

Then he drew a breath and slid into the sea, letting it swallow him whole.

The ocean at night was chilling and Rin shuddered as waves crashed over his head, mind scrambling as his oxygen ran low and his body lost its will to float; he was immersing, but remained unafraid-Haru could feel through the water as if it were his own body, his own arms-and Rin knew he couldn't drown in them. Haru wouldn't let him die.

From underneath the freezing waves, Rin gave a small sigh as the icy coldness overtook him. Somewhere above in his mind's eye, he could see a prick of light... then he was pulled to the rock.

'RIN!'

The image of Haru was wavering as Rin felt two hands shake his shoulders. Then he begun to cough water.

'Knew you were here...' he mumbled, lips blue. 'The second time you've pulled me up from drowning... but I had to get your attention somehow. Were you in the cave?'

Haru nodded and Rin extended a hand to touch the lacerations on his cheek where Makoto's vines had squeezed him. He ran his thumb over the cut... then hit Haru in the arm.

'Why the hell did you run away like that?!' he demanded. 'Stupid idiot. You could have waited by the ship-'

Haru shook his head, avoiding Rin's eyes.

'...why?'

'Why did I come after you? Haru... you don't have to ask me that. I-I came to see you, I-I mean... we need to talk.'

A red dawn cracked through the black night-weeping and bleeding into the darkness-and as the sun slowly rose, the sky became coloured like autumn leaves, stained in slashes of amber and scarlet. The surface of the water appeared ablaze with the colours, dying both Rin and Haru's backs red.

Rin watched it and wondered where to begin.

'On the rescue ship, when you were put in a cage,' he decided. 'Haru... you told me you were human.'

'Human... absorbed God's abilities,' Haru said. 'Sea demon in body also.'

'You let a sea demon live in your body,' Rin translated. 'Why?'

'Rin's father... dead. Driving sex slave ship then crashed into iceberg. Demon sensed despair of captured women in ship and came to make deal before ship went under. Feel everything in water so knew... had to protect ocean.'

'So you went to the site where my dad's ship crashed to defeat the demon... and succeeded?'

Haru nodded.

'Strong demon. But won.'

'Good for you,' Rin grinned. '...you fought the demon and won. So, why did you put it in your body instead of killing it?'

Haru turned away from Rin, and the drops of water caught in his dark hair shimmered in the light of the rising sun.

'Demons eat dark feelings,' Haru explained. 'Sadness... won't feel.'

It took a long time for the words to settle into Rin, because he'd expected Haru to tell him a convoluted tale about how the demon was needed to feed him power, but the reality was simpler; Haru had put a demon inside of himself to eat all of his sadness so he wouldn't have to feel it. He wasn't trying to break away from controlling the water like Makoto had thought, and he wasn't trying to become stronger using the demon as Rin had suspected; in reality, Haru was upset. He'd been alone for thousands of years in the ocean, never talking to anyone, only listening to sailors who crossed the waters and learning from their speech whilst trying not to be seen. _Of course_ Haru was sad, Rin realised-he couldn't talk to humans. They would either view him as a threat and kill him, or consider him beautiful then kill him anyway, to sell him to a collector and make themselves rich. Even if he did have the abilities of a God, Haru's soul was still a human's... he still wanted the same things Rin did.

With a chill, Rin remembered the story Nagisa had told him about the single God in the beginning who'd been so lonely that he'd tried to destroy himself, which was why his soul had split itself into four and four boys had harboured the parts; it made Rin feel... empty.

_Even if a God is really there, with no one to know about his existence, they'll be no one to consider him real. He'll be forgotten, left as a part of the shadows... a God that will be there forever, but whom has ceased to exist in the minds of others. Is that how you felt, Haru? Like you were drifting out of existence, alone in an expanse of blue without anyone else to tell you that you're real?_

'You are human,' Rin realised. 'You were telling the truth.'

'Not siren. Or God, or demon. Haru.'

'Yeah,' Rin agreed. 'You're Haru.'

He lay down on the rock.

'But I still don't get it,' he murmured. 'Haru... I don't understand why you wouldn't let go of that demon during Makoto's exorcism. If you could just find another one to replace it-'

'Can't replace,' Haru replied. 'Strong... needed for Rin.'

'For _me_?!'

Haru nodded.

'Use it. Keep Rin alive.'

'Of course...'

That was when Rin understood what Haru had meant when he said he'd found a way to get around the curse. Rin had a curse on his soul which meant that he would go to Hell when he died, and the curse couldn't be removed. But... Rin couldn't go to Hell if he never died.

'I think I get it now...' Rin hummed. 'Well, maybe: there are still a few things I'm not clear about. Haru, when the ship pulled up here and we met again... do you remember all of the things you said? I was sitting a little further away from where we are now and you threw rocks at me to get my attention... then you took me under the water and into a hidden cave, where the walls were covered in diamonds. And you told me... you said you needed my consent.'

'Need permission to put sea demon in body,' Haru explained. 'Rin has to welcome it.'

'So, you want to put a sea demon in me.' _No wonder Haru kept his motives a secret for so long_, Rin thought, bitterly. '...then what?'

'Fuse demon soul with Rin's... make Rin immortal. Rin take it's abilities,' Haru explained. 'But... difficult. Rin's soul... weaker. That's why grace needed.'

'Oh.'

They watched the sunset together for several more minutes, and Rin felt the sea swirl underneath his feet where his toes were dipped in the water and the waves turned to froth as they hit the rock shelf that he was sitting on. Haru had been nurturing a sea demon and he wanted Rin to invite that same demon to come from Haru's body into his own. The divine grace (or 'blessing,' as Makoto had called it) that Rin had been bestowed with was a form of sacred protection which meant that the demon couldn't eat Rin's soul or possess him once it got inside of his body, so Rin figured it would be stuck inside of him until Haru merged their souls together... but even though Haru spoke confidently, Rin was afraid. Would he even be himself, after taking something out of Hell inside of his own soul? Even if he could control it, what kind of wants and abilities would come with the demon-how much would he change?

'There's another thing...' Rin muttered. 'When I first followed you into that cave, you said you were going to kill me. You said you wanted to sacrifice me to the water-'

'Give up humanity,' Haru said. 'Endless drifting in sea. Same as death.'

'Does it hurt?'

'Fusion painful,' Haru nodded, then took Rin's hands. '...With me after. Always with me. Rin said -'

'I _know_ I told you I wanted to be like you and swim forever!' Rin sighed, pushing away Haru's hands. 'But this is _different_-you're taking something from Hell that's twisted and lives from the pain of others and merging it's soul with mine... there has to be another way.' He frowned as he thought about it. 'Haru... when you were talking to Rei in private on the beach and you thought you were alone, I heard both of you and Rei said the curse will go away if you just kill the demon, so why can't we do that? That way, all the sirens will be released and I can go back to being a human.'

There was a long moment of silence. Haru's expression hardened.

'...no...'

'_No_?'

'Rei... wrong. Only way to get around curse-Rin has to live forever in ocean with me.'

'But-'

'No other way,' Haru repeated.

'Now that you mention it...' Rin murmured. 'When you were talking with Makoto, he said that killing the demon wouldn't work... agh, Haru, this is just fucking confusing! If you're all part of the same God then why do Rei and Makoto both say different things?'

'Rei wrong,' Haru offered.

'And if he's not?'

'Then demon will die,' Haru said. 'And Rin lose last chance to save soul from Hell.'

Rin frowned, suddenly not feeling so confident that he wanted to take that chance. He wanted to live forever in the ocean with Haru, but the deal wasn't that simple-

'What will happen to me?' he whispered. 'After the demon merges with my soul... will I still be myself?'

'Same as me,' Haru replied.

'Right... you know how this worls because your soul got fused with part of God's, which is why you're so confident about doing the same thing to me with a demon. But that doesn't answer my question: Haru, the way you are now... were you like that, when you were human?'

'Don't want to talk,' Haru shook his head. 'Want to do it now.'

'_Now_?! Haru-'

'Now,' Haru replied, stubbornly. 'Or not at all.'

Then he slipped into the waves, staying visible on the surface of the water as he swum so Rin could follow. Rin sighed as he climbed over the rocks-just like the last time-then dove into the water, seeking out the hidden labyrinths. After moving through them, Rin found the first cave Haru had taken him into, noticing the hunting knife he'd dropped last time glimmering from underwater. Then he proceeded to the diamond studded cave.

It looked the same as before.

Blue lights twinkled and glistened from each one of the cave walls, their light seeming to emit a soft glow which comforted Rin, because it was _too_ dark here-it was too still, the only movement coming from the water where it rippled as drops fell from cave stalagmites. Rin sat down over the rock and watched Haru pull himself up onto the surface, placing a hand on Rin's chest and laying him down. Rin's eyes didn't leave his.

Haru's fingers were light and rose up before the collar of Rin's sailor uniform, his thumb resting on the wet fabric as his fingers slipped between the folds, and he popped one of Rin's buttons. Rin felt himself swallow hard as the braces were unclipped, letting Haru slide the white shirt over his arms then pull the blue one over his head. His breathing had gotten heavy... but it wasn't in arousal.

'Rin... mine,' Haru said, putting his head on Rin's bare chest and closing his eyes. There was a possessiveness in his voice that Rin recognised from the last time they'd been here; he shivered.

'Haru, you're clinging... get off-'

'Rin comfortable?'

_Uh, I'm lying on a block of hard stone about to have a demon forced into my soul so no, not really,_ was Rin's first thought, but he smiled.

'Yeah. Let's get this over with.'

As Haru looked up, his blue eyes seemed to shine in the darkness and a prick of discomfort spread through Rin-he didn't feel confident about this. He opened his mouth to protest when Haru put a finger to his lips.

Then Rin felt the demon enter him and screamed.

He knew immediately when it came into his body- the transfer of that _thing_ from Haru to him felt like a bludgeoning punch. It hurt, but he knew he couldn't resist-he had to welcome and embraced it like Haru had told him, so Rin _tried_ to accept it. That was the hardest part.

Shadows seemed to spread over Rin and engulf him, causing him to gasp as his heartbeat turned violent. The demon penetrated everything- it got into his thoughts, into his _head_ as Rin could feel it whispering to him as he twisted against his own will, trying to remember that it was okay to let it in, but surrendering _hurt._ He sunk his teeth into his lower lip until the blood trailed down onto his neck and screams were ripped from his throat, two hands pinning his wrists above his head to stop him from hurting himself. Rin moaned at the end of the sounds, and when Haru came into his vision he whispered:

'I can't do this.'

Then his eyes shut of their own violation and he screamed again. Pain seemed to spread like spider webs through his core, through his very _soul_, scorching like fire and piercing like hot knives, all hurting and burning and itching at the same time as he felt the demon burrow and twist into his soul, but it was beyond physical, beyond anything he could stop. It went on for weeks that seemed like millenniums and when he felt the pain finally begin to subside, Rin's entire body was weak.

His vocal chords were long-torn so that his throat felt raw with dried blood from where he'd bitten his tongue or coughed, unable to make a single sound. He'd scratched himself all over, bitten his lips into shreds and every single muscle was quivering, tearstains dried onto his cheeks. He was _hot_-hotter than he'd ever been in his life... so hot that he was scared to move for the fear that his body would collapse into embers. A numbing calmness washed over Rin and when his eyes opened, he thought he saw Haru above him.

Then he fell into black unconsciousness, wondering if the ritual had worked-and if it had, what he'd become.


	13. END - Inside out Ocean

**Luuka: **this story is finished, thank you so much for the support! My work here is over, but you can favourite or review to show that you liked it/tell me how I did.

Thank-you for reading!

* * *

Time had passed since a fragment of God's spirit had entered Haru and his body had changed.

As a human, Haru had never experienced a 'normal' life, because other humans had taken that away. He'd been born into a religious convent stationed atop a mountain in Japan, told constantly that his purpose was to become a vessel for a part of God's soul on his seventeenth birthday. To do so, he had to become a 'pure' human.

There was no such thing as a 'pure' human. But they'd tried to make him into one.

They'd taken away all of his senses and damaged his body in ways so that he wouldn't feel any form of desire, lust or pride, because those encouraged sinful thoughts which would make him unworthy. He'd lived blind, deaf and paralysed, locked in a room where he knew only darkness. Then came the ritual.

The first real thing Haru ever felt in his entire life was pain, as the fragment of God's soul-which was powerful and strong-was forced to merge with his own-which was frail and weak-but Haru had been happy to change; he loved the ocean. It was kinder than humanity.

Yet in its own way, it was still cruel.

Thousands of years passed which he spent alone in the vast vacuum of blue, in an endless, repeated cycle of loneliness and boredom as the water's God. Haru swum, wondering where he was going, with no real way of knowing the answer-he watched humans cross the water from distances, followed some and wondered why they were always in groups. Several times, he'd attempted to talk to some of the humans, but they'd always tried to leave or hurt him so he'd ended up drowning them.

Then he'd met Rin.

And he'd wanted to swim for another person.

He liked Rin, because Rin was emotional. Sometimes, Haru didn't understand why Rin got so worked up over small things-why Rin blushed and lost the ability to look him in the eye whenever they were close sometimes, why he snapped at Haru's teasing, yet Haru _wanted _to understand-he wanted to stay with Rin and study him, to try and distinguish if there was any of his own humanity left, or if he really was just a vessel. When he saw Rin's smile and felt something reverberate in his chest, he knew he had the answer: he wasn't empty. It was possible that he'd swum almost every inch of the ocean in the thousands of years that he'd lived, but now, the sea had turned itself inside out and Haru could see the other side of the dull, desolate stretch of blue; he could see the colours of the marine life, the vibrant shades that both the sky and the sea made when they became one at sunset, and the whole palette of blues that the water portrayed.

It all looked better, with Rin.

When the demon had entered Rin's body, Haru had watched Rin scream and bleed. He'd moaned and squeezed Haru hard enough to tear the skin whilst crying and begging Haru to _get it out_ but Haru had turned away-he didn't like how Rin's pain made him cold. Haru had _done_ the ritual-he knew how much it hurt. After the ritual finished, Rin had fallen unconscious. Haru had stayed with him, and he noticed the changes Rin went through: during the first few days, scales grew over Rin's legs from his hips to his toes, each one solid and hardened like iron. But during the second week a flesh coating had grown over them which felt rubbery like shark's skin but firm from the scales underneath, with two fins growing at end. When the fins were formed fully, Haru took Rin to a part of the rock where it was slanted and he could lay Rin down so that his tail dipped in the water, but his body stayed dry on the rock.

Rin's tail was heavier than Haru's own and striped with thick, red triangles on the side in a pattern, the skin containing a hint of roughness that Haru found it felt good to rub against, his own sensitive tail tingling at the friction as water sloshed between their bodies. He ground his hips into Rin's several times, repeating his name to try and wake him up. When he didn't, Haru frowned and lay down beside him.

'Rin,' he whispered, after a while. '...Pregnant.'

'That only works when we do it, Haru...' was the murmured response and with a deep sigh Rin's eyes opened, the red in his pupils the smouldering colour of blood and fire.

* * *

At his core Rin was still the same, but the change after the demon's soul had merged with his own was evident.

Whereas sharks and whales swum beside Haru peacefully, they all fled when Rin was close. His maroon hair appeared red when it was wet, black nails sharp enough to rip fish apart and a necklace of shark's teeth hung around his neck, but none of those cast the same impression as the black aura he emitted. Everything in the ocean feared him.

Well, almost everything.

The demon part of Rin lusted for souls so occasionally he crashed ships, went to the sites and toyed with the dying: Haru didn't care about that. It didn't make any difference to him who had to die to satisfy Rin or how much Rin wanted to play with the humans to amuse himself. It hurt when he remembered that as a human, Rin had gotten angry when he'd heard about the way demons cast their curses, and Haru knew that the human Rin would hate what he'd become, but he told himself that Rin_ felt_ the same so it was only his nature that had changed, and not him. He loved Rin.

And Rin loved him wildly in return.

Intimately, Rin was rougher, often covering Haru in marks. Rin's hands would grip Haru's arms as they had sex underwater, Rin burying his nose in Haru's shoulder and biting his neck until Haru moaned and waves went through the ocean that only the two of them could hear-that none of the humans would be_ able_ to hear. Rin's limbs weren't smooth and delicate like Haru's, but firm, his six abdomen muscles hard and defined; Rin would take Haru's hand and press it against his stomach, so that Haru's fingers could run over the little lines between the bumps. He would drag the hand upwards so that Haru could feel his heartbeat-warm and strong- then dip the fingers between the seam of his mouth and graze the tips with his sharp teeth, grinning.

'You're stuck with me forever,' Rin had hummed. 'I hope you understand that, Ha-_ru_-_ka_.'

It was a hazy morning when the two of them were swimming in the ocean around Iwatobi, and Rin had pulled his head out of the water by a ship. Haru recognised the voices on the deck.

'I guess Mikoshiba found a new ship, huh...' Rin muttered, and when Haru grabbed his arm to hold him back, added: 'hey... I'm not gonna _do_ anything. Haru, I just want a look.'

'Recognise you.'

'No, I just want to watch. Haru, I'm not gonna let them see me. Promise,' he kissed Haru's neck and murmured in his ear: 'don't you trust me?'

'Not to do with that,' Haru protested.

'Do you think I miss them?'

Rin laughed, but he'd been the one who'd suggested it: a pulling pain filled Haru's chest suddenly and as his vision blacked, he saw a small mound of earth floating in the sea. Then his body returned to normal and he saw Rin staring at him.

'...Haru?'

'Others,' Haru muttered. 'Want to see me.'

'What, you can communicate with them without talking?'

He, Makoto, Nagisa and Rei all contained part of the same soul, so Haru didn't know why Rin found that surprising.

'Go alone,' Haru explained.

'Why can't I come with you?'

Rin didn't like the idea of being left out-Haru could see it, _hear_ it in Rin's tone. He didn't have a problem with giving Haru space, but after being implicitly told he couldn't come with Haru, Rin was suspicious.

'Talk about elements,' Haru explained. 'Others don't like demons.'

'Oh...'

Rin's expression darkened and he frowned down at the water. Haru tiled his chin back up.

'Go alone,' Haru repeated. 'Back soon.'

'Yeah, well... how soon is 'soon?'

'Rin patient.'

'You haven't learned very much about me if you think that...' Rin muttered. Haru gave him a trying look.

'Rin wait.'

'It's not like I have a_ choice_ here,' Rin sighed. 'Just be back before nightime-I don't wanna sleep alone.'

'Scary demon.'

'Shuddup.'

He kissed Rin softly on the lips, feeling the water pool around his hips as Rin's arms circled his waist, pulling Haru closer. Rin's teeth nipped at Haru's lower lip, his breath soft on his face.

'Back before night,' Haru vowed.

'Yeah, yeah,' Rin laughed. '...Just _go_.'

* * *

There was a small patch of land in the middle of the sea, where no sailor had travelled. From it's grass, branches coiled upwards and assumed the shape of Makoto. There was a flicker of flames beside him and Nagisa appeared, his blond hair seeming ablaze, then Rei swooped down from the sky and landed, his wings folding as he crossed his arms. Haru floated in the ocean around them; Rin didn't need to know where he was. He'd probably followed Mikoshiba's new ship-Haru couldn't stop him.

A shrill sirens call echoed in the distance.

'I-I thought you were getting rid of the sirens, Haru-chan...' Nagisa shivered. 'They're scary. We're meant to fight demons-'

'Rin likes them.'

The women who'd turned into sirens had wanted Rin's family to be cursed, so Rin had decided that it was their job to live with the effects. When the demons abilities had been embedded within his own soul, Rin had gained the power to set them all free but he didn't want to-why should he? The sirens took souls and did Rin's work for him. Besides... they hadn't cared if Rin's soul had gone to Hell, so Rin didn't care about theirs.

Makoto sighed.

'Haru... I did everything you asked. When you came to visit me, I pretended not to know about the demon and went along with the exorcism like you wanted... Rin doesn't know that conversation that took place between us was staged for him, does he? ...He doesn't know that I lied, because you asked me to?'

Haru didn't reply.

'I'm not going to tell him,' Makoto continued, tiredly. 'That was part of the deal, too. I had to pretend that the curse on Rin's soul couldn't be removed so he'd think the only way to save himself would be to go through that ritual with a demon... and after that, you said you'd make sure that my rainforests always had enough water. Well, I'm not unhappy with the deal. It's just...'

'I understand the sentiment,' imputed Rei, gravely. 'Haruka-san, you've lied: that isn't befitting of a God. I told you clearly when I came to visit you that night on the beach that the curse on Rin-san's soul would be removed if you just killed the demon, but you refused: you merged it with Rin because you wanted him to live in the ocean with you.'

'Rin would choose me.'

'T-then why didn't you give him that choice?' Nagisa murmured. 'H-Haru-chan, this life... we never got the option because we were born and raised to live forever controlling the elements, b-but for you to force it onto someone else...' he looked up, determinedly. 'I just don't think it's fair you took away his chance at being a human-you made him into a demon.'

'Told Rin he would be sacrificed to the water in the beginning,' Haru said. 'He gave the demon consent.'

'Perhaps, but you didn't explain it properly-you left things out and told him at different periods to build up his trust. He didn't know that he could have lived normally. Haru,' Makoto appeared troubled. 'Whether you love him or not doesn't change the fact that you've manipulated him-'

'Doesn't matter,' Haru replied. 'Rin with me forever. ...all I care about.'

'You really are a male siren...' sighed Rei.

Haru nodded.

'...Yeah.'


End file.
